PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONGRESS REFORM

(PNCR)
CONGRESS PLACE, SOPHIA, GEORGETOWN, GUYANA. Tel: 225-7852-5
Fax: 226-0871; 225-2704; 231-7189
Email: pnc_reform@hotmail.com, peoples_national_congress@yahoo.com,
pncreform@gmail.com Website: www.guyanapnc.org &
www.guyananewnation.com

PRESS STATEMENT
By
People’s National Congress Reform
Thursday October 22, 2009
Media Centre, Congress Place, Sophia
SUMMARY:
• The PNCR rejects the recent announcement by the police of an investigation into Roger Khan as
clearly another attempt to deceive the people of Guyana and to shift the focus of the demand by
opposition parties for an international inquiry;
• The PNCR Parliamentarians will boycott today’s sitting of the National Assembly in pursuance of its
previously announced strategy of selective participation/boycott to enforce its demands for an
International Inquiry;
• Guyanese need to be watchful to prevent the attempted manipulation of the Election’s Commission to
facilitate the PPP gerrymandering of the Local Government constituency boundaries before the
Local Government Elections;
• The seventeen (17) years of the PPP/C Administration have also been characterized by incompetence,
corruption, lack of performance and deterioration in the water sector, thus imposing further
hardships on Guyanese in the supply of potable water.

POLICE INVESTIGATION INTO KHAN ANOTHER PLANNED “GAJRAJ SCENARIO”

DECEPTION

Faced with the embarrassment that a foreign Court secured convictions against ‘Roger’ Khan for less
serious offences than the murders he is alleged to have committed in Guyana, the Police finally
announced the appointment of a special investigative team, to “enquire into the alleged murders which
surfaced during the court hearing for drug dealer Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan”. The PNCR is not
impressed, however, by this latest maneouvre and is convinced that this is yet another attempt by the
Jagdeo Administration to deceive the world that it is taking some action against the atrocities
committed in Guyana.

Most Guyanese would be reminded of the “Gajraj Inquiry” into the then Minister’s involvement with
the deadly “phantom squad”. The regime, faced with public demonstrations by the PNCR and others,
revelations by George Bacchus, and the publication of telephone links between Axel Williams and
Gajraj, sought to create the impression that they were finally about to investigate. A Commission of
Inquiry was announced. Shortly thereafter, the terms of reference was limited to ensure that the
Commission was restricted from traversing the real issue of criminal activity, which the Opposition
Parties had been demanding. Eventually, Minister Ronald Gajraj was promoted as Guyana’s High
Commissioner to India. It is evident, therefore, from all that has transpired over the past six years that
this recent initiative is another Gajraj type scenario.

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The Guyana Police Force (GPF) belated call for individuals, organisations or groups to provide
evidence is another attempt to fool the public that the police are not in possession of any evidence.
This is a serious indictment on the GPF after more than two hundred gangland style executions were
committed in this jurisdiction. The public is aware that sworn affidavits and taped interviews of
potential witnesses were presented to the Police by the PNCR several years ago, which could have
facilitated an investigation. What have the police done with this information?

How can the police be relied upon to conduct an investigation when, self confessed drug lord, ‘Roger’
Khan, has placed a full page advertisement in the daily newspapers claiming that he has been working
in close collaboration with the security forces in carrying out his activities in Guyana. To date there has
been no disclaimer from the police. Additionally, Guyanese would recall that when Khan and seven
others were arrested in 2002 with arms, ammunition and the infamous “spy computer” at Good Hope,
East Coast Demerara, a serving member of the GPF was among them. The Guyana Defence Force
(GDF) ranks that effected the arrest had taken possession of the computer and the GDF Intelligence
Corps had commenced investigations. No sooner had they embarked upon this project, the entire GDF
Intelligence Corps was disbanded and Khan was permitted to continue his activities in Guyana as an
untouchable. Over the past months, as more evidence of these matters were publicized during the
Robert Simels’ trial, the police then claimed that they could not obtain information from the US
Courts. Yet, prominent journalists were able to access that information and the entire transcript is
available to some persons and organizations, including the PNCR, in Guyana. No one aware of these
facts, therefore, could take the announcement by the police seriously.

How do the police expect potential witnesses to come forward when the record shows that all those
who came forward before were executed or suspiciously killed? The PNCR had called for the
establishment of a witness protection scheme several years ago to guarantee the safety of those who
were willing to come forward, but the Jagdeo regime refused to act. The announcement by the police,
in the absence of assurances of protection, is not intended to encourage anyone to come forward. The
Minister of Home Affairs recently publicized that he is in possession of telephone records of
conversations with the masterminds of the Health Ministry’s fire. They were also in possession of
telephone records involving Ronald Gajraj and, more recently, Kwame McKoy. Is none available on
‘Roger’ Khan and political functionaries?

It should also be noted that the PPP had rejected any discussion of this issue in the National Assembly
when the Leader of the PNCR and Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin, sought to have the Parliament
adjourned on a matter of urgent public importance. Mr. Corbin has since submitted a substantive
Motion to the Parliament for the National Assembly to support an international inquiry. (The original
Motion is attached for public information). The people of Guyana would soon be able to determine the
sincerity of the Jagdeo regime.

The PNCR, therefore, rejects this recent announcement by the police as clearly another attempt to
deceive the people of Guyana and to shift the focus of the demand by Opposition Parties for an
international inquiry. That inquiry must not be about ‘Roger’ Khan alone, but on the criminal activities
in Guyana in which both the police and the Government were obviously involved. The police cannot
be trusted exclusively with such an investigation. Consequently, the PNCR will continue to agitate for
a wider inquiry by an international body. In the meantime, the police must inform the Nation of their
witness protection plan, which would at least illustrate their willingness to obtain information that
could facilitate such an inquiry.

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 In this picture is the panel for the Press Conference which was held in the Media Centre at Congress Place on 22
October 2009. From left are Mr. Keith Scott, M.P., Ms. Africo Selman, M.P., Mr. Basil Williams, M.P. and Vice-
Chairman of the Party, and Mr. Alan Munroe, member of the CEC.

SELECTIVE PARTICIPATION/BOYCOTT OF THE PARLIAMENT

Since the PPP/C’s rejection of the PNCR’s attempt to discuss the ‘Roger’ Khan affair, the PNCR
walked out of the National Assembly and announced a policy of selected participation/boycott until the
Government positively responded to the call of the Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) for an
international inquiry into the criminal activities in Guyana including, but not limited to the matters
revealed in the trials of ‘Roger’ Khan and his Lawyer, Robert Simels.

On the last occasion that the National Assembly met the PNCR considered it necessary to attend to
expose the PPP/C Government’s attempt to dispose of the people of Guyana 20% share holding in the
Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Company by an undisclosed procedure and the response to
queries made by the PNCR about the state of the East Bank Berbice road. The Government, as
predictable, arrogantly refused to provide adequate answers about the reasons for that sale. It was
evident during that debate that the Government was being vindictive to that Company and was
pursuing a blind vendetta against its operations. It was also quite evident that the Government was
attempting to raise funds to lay a fiber optic cable across Guyana to become a competitor with the
private sector in the provision of telecommunications services. Despite its claims of promoting the
private sector, the Government’s actions are clearly designed to undermine private sector development
in Guyana and to continue political dominance over their activities.

Three matters are listed on the Order paper for today’s sitting of the National Assembly. The first deals
with the rice sector and Government’s attempt to set time limits for the payment of rice farmers by rice
millers. The PNCR obviously supports the prompt payment of rice farmers. The Bill before the House,
however, is another manifestation of the PPP/C incompetent management of the rice sector. Several
years ago, the PPP propagandized that they had addressed all the issues affecting rice farmers when the
well publicized cases of non-payment forced rice farmers to take protest action against the Government
and delinquent rice millers. The Minister of Agriculture rushed to Parliament with a Law, which the
Government boasted, would solve this problem permanently. The fact of there being need to return to
Parliament with another Bill is clear evidence of their incompetence. The problems of the rice industry,
however, cannot be solved by legislation. In the absence of a coherent policy with incentives and
support for both millers and farmers, the problems of the rice sector will be a continuous one.
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Another Bill before the National Assembly is intended to make a minor amendment to the Fugitive
Offenders Act as it relates to conditions for extradition. The timing of this Bill is significant since all
Guyana knows of the biased approach of the PPP/C Government to issues of extradition of alleged
drug offenders. No one can forget the initial attempts by the Jagdeo regime to protest the arrest of
‘Roger’ Khan by US DEA personnel in Trinidad and Tobago and his subsequent imprisonment in New
York. The difficulties already facing the extradition process has been publicized recently with the
failure of the US to secure the extradition of two wanted offenders on drug charges. Yet the
amendment that the Government is attempting is likely to further complicate rather than simplify the
process. Apart from being self-contradictory, the Bill is unlikely to improve the system of bringing
fugitive offenders to justice. The PPP/C is again attempting to create the false impression that it is
active in the field of drug trafficking control. The PNCR refuses to participate in such deceptions and
sees no reason why it should participate in the charade. The PNCR Parliamentarians will, therefore,
boycott today’s sitting in pursuance of its previous announced strategy to enforce its demands for an
International Inquiry.

PPP ATTEMPTING TO MANIPULATE THE CONSTITUENCY BOUNDARIES BEFORE

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Clear evidence is emerging of the PPP’s attempt to manipulate the boundaries of constituencies in the
various Local Government areas to secure an advantage in the forthcoming Local Government
Elections. The reform of the Local Government system will be characterized by a change of the
electoral system to one that combines direct constituency representation with proportional
representation. This change requires each Local Government area, i.e., the sixty-five Neighbourhood
Democratic Councils, NDC, and the six Towns, to be divided into constituencies’ equivalent to half of
the number of councilors that will constitute the Council. The Guyana Elections Commission
(GECOM), to ensure that this process was undertaken in a scientific way and free from partisan
political influence, commenced a well-publicized process of consultation with the communities
involved. These consultations included representatives of the existing Councils, community groups,
and representatives of the various political parties and members of the community. During these
consultations, several recommendations, which had the support of the public, were made and it was
expected that those recommendations would have guided any decision on the number of constituencies
for each local government area and their respective boundaries.

Most of the consultations were completed, but, before GECOM could formally deliberate on these
matters, the Minister of Local Government issued an Order declaring the number of councilors for
each local government area. This Order has serious implications for the implementation of the
recommendations and is clearly designed to frustrate all the consultations undertaken by GECOM with
the involvement of all stakeholders. The PNCR has been able to determine that the boundaries in at
least eighteen Local Government areas are likely to be affected by the political Order issued by the
Minister. The PNCR is continuing its investigations into this matter. The PNCR is also in receipt of
reliable information that the General Secretary of the PPP, Mr. Donald Ramotar, in a follow-up to the
Order wrote a letter to the Chairman of GECOM, warning that due note must be taken of the
Minister’s direction.

The PNCR had warned Guyanese of this sinister plan by the regime when the Government unilaterally
terminated the work of the Local Government Task Force. This draft legislation had placed power to
determine the number of constituencies and the boundaries in the hands of the Minister of Local
Government. The PNCR and other stakeholders had vigorously opposed this draft provision in the
proposed legislation. The prevailing view was that this power should be vested in the Elections
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Commission. It was at the time of this disagreement that the PPP resorted to the Parliament to conclude
consideration of the Legislation. This provision was again opposed at the select Committee by the
PNCR, but the Government unilaterally rushed the passage of this Bill through Parliament.

The PPP/C must know that it is traveling on dangerous and controversial grounds, which could make a
mockery of the entire Local Government reform. We urge GECOM to be resolute on this matter
equally as we warn the PPP/C administration that the PNCR will not be idle if they pursue this reckless
and provocative course of action. The PNCR alerts all Guyanese to be watchful to prevent the
attempted manipulation of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to facilitate the PPP/C
gerrymandering of the Local Government constituency boundaries before the Local Government
Elections.

17 YEARS OF INCOMPETENCE AND CORRUPTION IN THE WATER SECTOR IMOSING

HARSHIPS ON GUYANESE

In this celebrated month of October during which the PPP/C has been embarrassed into toning down
their claims of a return to democracy, the PNCR has been highlighting various aspects of their poor
governance and miserable performance. Today the PNCR highlights that the seventeen (17) years of
the PPP/C Administration have also been characterized by incompetence, corruption, lack of
performance and deterioration in the water sector, thus imposing further hardships on Guyanese in the
supply of potable water.

In 1992, the PPP/C inherited a master plan, which catered for the rehabilitation and adequate delivery
of potable water supply to the country. They promised to accelerate and implement these plans in their
election manifesto. 17 years later Guyanese turning on their water taps at home best illustrate the
hollowness of their promises.

WATER DELIVERY SACRIFICED

In their haste to re-engineer the population for political mileage, the PPP/C embarked on the
distribution of house lots without any consideration for infrastructure development. Shoddy tracks
passed for roads while electricity supply and other services such as water supply were ignored. As
daily complaints were aired by residents throughout the towns, but especially by those on the East
Coast and East Bank, miles of pipelines were laid without water supply. Citizens continue to
experience severe hardships with many having to walk for miles to get a bucket of water or pay
exorbitant sums to purchase the commodity. The conditions under which people lived became
secondary to the PPP/C political agenda as they propagandized the thousands of house lots distributed.

ANOTHER WHITE ELEPHANT

Instead of 24 hours delivery the city residents are lucky to receive three (3) hours of water per day.
The white elephant at Guyhoc/West Ruimveldt is still to be filled with water to adequately supply
residents in that area. The existing well cannot provide adequate water for the number of residents as
they had projected. This reflects poor planning and is typical to the situation in other areas such as
Linden, Bartica, Bare Root, Paradise and other villages throughout Guyana. For example, because of
failure to make adjustments for the expansion of that Community, the pump station cannot supply the
new areas like three miles. There is the obvious need for bigger pumps. Do they need another 17
years to address this pressing need?

GWI BIGGEST PROBLEM

Guyanese are well aware of the problems with Severn Trent and the termination of their contract by
the Government. The Administration then boasted that the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI), as the new
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entity, would solve all water problems following the termination of that contract. They quickly
replaced qualified engineers with political hacks and the nation suffered as the administration played
games with their “blue-eyed kid Galahad” Karran Singh. After that drama ended that entity is still at
a loss to address their biggest problems: adequate delivery of water to consumers and arresting water
loss. Meanwhile, they continue to pass on the cost of wastage to the customers by inflated estimated
bills rather than accurate bills, which reflect the correct amount of water used. Consumers, therefore,
are paying for their inefficiency.

The 2008-2009 IDB report had highlighted a grossly understaffed entity. Consequently, Guyanese
cannot expect any improvement unless the deficiencies are seriously addressed. These include
prevention of water wastage due to defective pipes, poor rate of leak detection and an inability to
prevent water contamination. There is no developed system to close off small segments at a time to
effect urgent repairs, thus preventing the high loss of water and the added risk of contamination.

MUDDY WATER
GWI's mandate is to supply clean and potable water according to WHO standards, yet they have
continually failed to do so. Instead, flowing through our taps, when water does come, is mainly brown,
sometimes muddy water, loaded with small creatures. It is no surprise that recent reports from
hospitals point to persons increasingly being affected with gastroenteritis and other water borne
diseases. GWI appears to lack the competent personnel to deal with the iron content in the water or the
knowledge to mix the chlorine, alum and other inputs in the correct ratio. They continue to err in the
processing of water 17 years after blundering from one political functionary to another. Maybe the
CEO who advised the use of trench water to wash cars would be happy to extend this level of
backwardness to housewives for cooking purposes.

WHY NO WATER PRESSURE AFTER 17 YEARS?

Water delivery to the first floor is mandated in Chapter 28.01 of the Municipal and District Councilors
Act. Low water pressure should never be a feature of city life after 17 years of managing the
entity. The management now hides their failure by laying the blame on the Guyana Power and Light
(GPL) Company.

The society expects GWI to afford our young people the opportunity to have a bath with water flowing
through their taps. It is time for any responsible management to revisit their reliance on GPL since
70% of GWI's income goes to GPL. The PNCR advises GWI to consider self-generation as several
other commercial entities have done, until GPL becomes reliable.

COST TO CUSTOMERS
Customers are tired of incurring the great cost of constructing trestles, overhead tanks and of buying
and servicing water pumps, all of which contribute to higher electricity bills and greater sacrifices to
access this precious commodity. How much more pressure can Guyanese bear?

END CORRUPTION
Billions of ratepayers and donor agencies funds are fraudulently diverted to the pockets of relatives,
cronies and corrupt contractors, through the process of closed bids. Open and transparent bids must
become the standard by which all contracts are awarded as advised by the auditor general's 2008-2009
report. Contractors must be held accountable for deviations from specifications. Clerk of works must
not allow 1/2" pipes to be billed while 1/4" pipes are used instead. These and other corrupt practices
must end in keeping with the AG's report.

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When people no longer need to buy water from the many water depots which have mushroomed all
over the country from Berbice to Essequibo; when children at school can once again safely drink from
the taps; when water is delivered 24 hours a day to our people, then our society will begin to live the
dream promised by the PNCR of a quality life free from the fear of illness. Water is life.

FIRE HYDRANTS
The PNCR conveys its sympathy to the many businesspersons and other citizens who have suffered
terribly due to loss and damage to property by fire. The Party rejects the alleged hot weather as a
reason for these types of fires. Electrical faults and aged power lines are among the major causes for
these fires. Many of these fires could have been contained to one building; instead, millions go up in
flames owing to lack of water, poor planning and deliberate disregard for the building codes of the
city. In the past Georgetown had working fire hydrants; schools had buckets of sand and water. What
has happened since 1992? 17 years of disinterest followed the lack of maintenance of these hydrants
have placed additional burdens on the fire service.

Too often, the tenders cannot access any water when they arrive on the scene. The time has come for a
new approach. Call in our hydro engineers to design a new water provision system to fight fires. We
suggest the installation of a grid system of underground pipes crisscrossing the city, all sourcing water
directly from the Demerara River, aided by the placing of booster station and hydrants at strategic
points in the city. This will enable water to be available 24 hours at any point in the city. Tenders can
be stationed further apart and the city will save thousands of liters of treated water.

Can we expect new thinking from this type of administration?

People’s National Congress Reform

Congress Place, Sophia,
Georgetown, Guyana
Thursday 22 October 2009

Visit our website @ www.guyanapnc.org