Dear Editor,
The publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall has been trying profusely to denigrate and discredit the achievements of former President and current Vice President and General Secretary of the PPP/C, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, including his educational credentials. Editor, please allow me to put on record, a summary of the Hon. Vice President’s political and other notable accomplishments:
Honorary Doctorates
• Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University, Moscow.
• D. Y. Patil University, Mumbai.
• TERI University, New Delhi.
• University of Central Lancashire (UK).
• Trent University (Canada)
Selected Public Lectures
• American University, School of International Service (Washington, DC).
• Columbia University (New York City, USA).
• Trent University (Peterborough, Canada).
• University of Toronto (Canada).
• United Nations University (Tokyo, Japan).
• University of the West Indies.
• York University (Toronto, Canada).
Selected Achievements
• Lead Head of Government for Agriculture in the Caribbean Community (Jagdeo Initiative), 2003.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from the President of India in the field of Public Affairs, 2004.
• Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in September 2005-September 2006.
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) identified Jagdeo as one of their inaugural Young Global Leaders (2006).
• Times Magazine named Jagdeo as one of their “Heroes of the Environment” (2008).
• Awarded the United Nations “Champion of the Earth” (2010).
• The Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed Jagdeo to serve on the Secretary General’s High-level Advisory Group on Climate Financing.
• Jagdeo was President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations (2010-2011).
• Jagdeo was made a Patron of the Delhi-based World Sustainable Development Forum (2010).
• Jagdeo was President of the Assembly of the Korea-based Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Bharrat Jagdeo was a founding member of GGGI (2010).
• Jagdeo was Roving Ambassador for the Three Basins Forest Countries – The Congo Basin in Central Africa, the Amazon Basin in South America, and the Borneo Mekong Basin in Southeast Asia (2011).
• Jagdeo was ICUN High-Level Envoy for Sustainable Development in Forest Countries and Patron of Nature – the world’s largest environmental organization, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), announced that President Jagdeo would become the (2012).
• Jagdeo was conferred with the highest honour of the State of Roraima, Brazil, the Order of Merit ‘Forte Sao Joaquim, April 2013.
• Jagdeo led a high-level team of experts to identify solutions for unlocking resources to enable small, poor, and climate-vulnerable Commonwealth countries to combat climate change (2013).
• Jagdeo presented his High-Level Team of Experts report to 53 heads of government and other leaders of the Commonwealth, representing about the fifth of the World’s population at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka (2014).
• Jagdeo served as Co-Chair of the 14-member Eminent Persons Group whose mission was to provide guidance and recommendations for the future of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Grouping.
• Jagdeo was Head, Commonwealth Elections Observers to Sri Lanka (2015).
• Jagdeo was a high-level contributor to the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change Summit in Warsaw (2015).
Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo served as Guyana’s Executive President for the period August 1999 to December 2011. Prior to his ascension to the Presidency, he served as Junior Minister of Finance in 1993 – 1995, Senior Minister of Finance, 1995 – 1997, and Second Vice President, 1997-1999.
It is important to note that when the PPP/C Government was elected in 1992, they inherited a bankrupt economy. At that that time, the debt-to-GDP was 900%, debt service was over 150%, inflation was 87%, interest rate was nearly 40%, zero foreign exchange reserves and zero savings in the bank.
In 1994, the PPP/C Government had embarked on the formulation of a National Development Strategy (NDS), which was led by Dr. Jagdeo as finance minister at the time. The strategy was finalized in 1996, and its incremental implementation commenced immediately thereafter in 1997.
By the time the former President Dr. Jagdeo completed his second term in office, the economy’s debt-to-GDP was reduced from 900% (1992) to less than 50% (2011), debt service to revenue ratio reduced from over 150% to 30%, inflation was reduced from 87% (1992) to 2% (2011), interest rates reduced from 30% (1992) to 11% (2011), exchange rates stabilized at $200, foreign reserves stood at US$750 million representing 5 months import cover from zero in 1992, GDP moved from US$300 million to US$3.7 billion (2011), per capita income increased from US$500, to US$4,900. From inheriting a bankrupt economy with virtually zero savings in the bank, the former President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo exited Government leaving a total of G$101 billion liquid cash in the Government Deposit Accounts in the banking sector at the end of 2011.
Additionally, Government Revenue through taxes increased by 205% from a position of $40 billion in 1999 to $122 billion in 2011; total banking sector assets rose by 165% from a position of $124 billion in 1999 to $328 billion in 2011; and net international reserves rose by 301% from a position of US$187 million in 1999 to US$750 million in 2011.
It is worthwhile to note that Dr. Jagdeo was never conferred any of his honorary doctorates from a church.
Sincerely,
Joel Bhagwandin
