In recent weeks, there have been disclosures by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regarding the personal information of members of the government.
In two cases, PPP affiliates accessed and released customs forms and data which showed that Finance Minister Winston Jordan had recently cleared a duty-free vehicle. Then there was the case of Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson whom the PPP revealed had received US$9,000 in his personal bank account as a reimbursement for a trip to China in 2016.
When considered collectively, political analysts assert that it is a clear demonstration of the PPP’s agenda as well as an indication of the numerous moles it has buried throughout the government to help fulfil its purpose.
Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Dr David Hinds, who spoke to the Guyana Standard today on this matter, said he shares this concern of the PPP’s access to citizens’ personal information while noting that the government needs to act quickly and flush the public service of PPP moles.
The University Professor said that the PPP is using the public service to undermine the government and “it is just plain wrong”.
Dr Hinds said, “If there are PPP supporters in the public service, their loyalty should be to their job. They should not allow partisan affiliation to cloud their judgment. I know there have always been partisan people in the public service but this is the worst that we have seen in post-colonial Guyana in terms of supporters of one party undermining the government in an overt manner.”
The columnist said that when these public servants behave in this manner, it forces the government to put its own people in key service positions which will then continue the trend of partisan politicisation of the public service. Dr Hinds stressed that this only makes it more difficult for leaders to govern effectively.
The WPA Executive Member opined that there needs to be a complete overhaul of the public service in which penalties are laid out for those who act in a partisan manner. In fact, the political scientist recommended that there be a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the public service with the aim of flushing out the PPP moles and making recommendations for a modern public service that is premised on best practices for its members.
