People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has urged Alliance for Change (AFC) leader Nigel Hughes to present concrete evidence to support his allegations of corruption within the PPP/C government. Dr. Jagdeo criticized Hughes for making sweeping claims without offering specific facts.
“Today we talk about tendering and what’s going on with the tenders not being evaluated properly… He (Nigel Hughes) did an interview and said that some contractors have to pay 30 percent to people. Let him find and bring the contractors; he’s a lawyer, so expose these people. But no! He speaks in generic terms!” the General Secretary stated on Thursday during a press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown.
Earlier that day, Hughes had appeared on a radio programexpressing concerns about government corruption, particularly in the contract tendering process.
“There’s a high level of corruption. With corruption, the country loses twice, but first, if the contract is 100 million, then you got to pay 30% commission to whoever the government official is,” Hughes alleged.
In response, Dr. Jagdeo reiterated the importance of presenting evidence to substantiate such claims.
“Today, they can come up with any number of issues with no evidence,” Jagdeo remarked, repeating his ongoing challenge for proof.
Hughes’ claims echo previous accusations made by the APNU+AFC Coalition before the 2015 General and Regional Elections, which alleged widespread corruption. In its 2015 manifesto, the APNU+AFC Coalition cited figures from former Auditor-General Anand Goolsarran, who estimated that 28-35% of procurement spending, or roughly G$28 billion annually, was lost to corruption.
Dr. Jagdeo has previously pointed out that these allegations have never been proven.
“Please allow Goolsarran to explain how $28-$35B was stolen annually between 2010 and 2014 by procurement fraud… You’d have to say ‘X’ project we lost a billion on… He has no details, absolutely nothing! It’s a figment of his imagination,” Dr. Jagdeo commented in a 2018 statement.
Despite several forensic audits conducted during the Coalition’s 2015-2020 administration, which cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, no evidence has been found to support the claims of widespread corruption.
Nigel Hughes is nothing more than a desperate figure grasping at straws in a futile attempt to make himself relevant. His feeble efforts to fabricate news and attack PPP leaders are nothing more than a distraction from the fact that his own AFC party has zero voter base in the country.
His empty rhetoric and baseless accusations only serve to highlight his irrelevance in the political landscape. Hughes is nothing more than a pawn trying to play the role of a leader, but his attempts are doomed to fail. Mr.Aubrey Norton and the PNC party see through his charade and recognize Nigel Hughes’ claims hold no weight. His inability to connect with voters or present a credible alternative only underscores his ineffectiveness. Hughes is a non-entity in the current political climate, and his efforts to undermine others are a desperate ploy to cover up his insignificance.