Persons claiming closeness to the Government of Guyana in an effort to trick investors into thinking they can acquire handouts from the administration are popping up too often says Vice-President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo.
His disclosure comes as Guyana, a two-year-old oil-producing nation, traverses the path of becoming a major economic powerhouse. The country’s never before seen half-trillion-dollar budget is packed with massive infrastructural projects, thereby paving the way for such unscrupulous activities to emerge.
During a press conference on Monday, the VP spoke at length about the rise of this “industry”, cautioning both local and foreign business owners to be alert. He told the media that Office of the President officials recently opted to call in the police when one of these conmen and an unsuspecting businessman showed up to meet with him.
“This was someone who met me at the oil and gas conference – a Guyanese [man] – and he took a picture with me, and he then went to a number of people, collected money from them, told them that he had a close relationship with me, [and] that he could arrange to see me. I’ve never seen him in my life. He was arrested right here…It has become almost like an industry now,” the VP said.
The VP is warning investors not to be “stupid and lose your money by thinking that you will get any preferences”.
Jagdeo’s reportage of the conman’s arrest at the Office of the President is yet to be officially disclosed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF). So far, the law enforcement agency has not issued any report of the arrest through customary channels and methods including the media WhatsApp Group, Email or posts on Facebook.
Jagdeo, himself, a few months ago, was embroiled in a scandal after he was asked point-blank by an overseas media outfit if he took bribes. Despite responding in the negative, the interviewer related that information received from a Chinese logger seems to implicate the VP as the official who must be financially gratified before rewards are granted.
“We have spoken to a number of Chinese businesspeople in Guyana who said you do accept bribes. And they said in fact it’s the only way to get business done is to bribe you. One Chinese businessperson we have spoken [to], involved in timber logging, said that basically as long as the Vice-President is okay with it, it’s fine,” the interviewer was quoted by the Stabroek News on February 9, 2022, as saying.
