By Ramona Luthi
Opposition Leader, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday asserted that the same Government Officials who have continuously accused the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) of ‘being in bed with drug dealers’ have them in their homes.
“What are they going to say now? The same AFC individuals who were accusing the PPP of being in bed with drug dealers, they have it right in their home so what are they going to say now?,” Jagdeo said during a press conference at his Church Street office today.
He was at the time directing his comment to the fact that the Public Infrastructure Minister and Alliance For Change (AFC) Member, David Patterson’s younger brother has been remanded to jail in Grenada on a cocaine possession for the purpose of trafficking charge.
To this end, the Opposition Leader is calling on Government to have a full scale investigation launched in Guyana to ‘ensure that our security was not compromised.’
“This is where the Government should launch a full investigation into it since this is a clean Government that doesn’t tolerate drug dealing,” he sarcastically quipped.
Jagdeo went on to speculate that given this new revelation then it is possible that the APNU-AFC Administration could have funded their election campaign with drug money.
Furthermore, Jagdeo went on to recount that some years ago, former Finance Minister under the PNC/R, Rashliegh Jackson had found himself in a similar rough patch as the Minister of Public Infrastructure, after his son was arrested for drug possession.
“I remember when a Former Minister, Rashliegh Jackson, whose son was found with drugs…He [Jackson] said it became untenable for him to continue and he resigned,” Jagdeo said.
Probed as to whether he was implying that a Minister should be held responsible for the actions of a relative, the Opposition Leader responded in the negative.
“This Minister, I have not called for his resignation. He has to decide because apart from just family member there has to be a full investigation whether the VIP lounge at the other areas were used in Guyana…” he posited while noting that had the same incident occurred where a PPP member was involved “it would have been [that] it was Jagdeo who gave the man the drugs.”
Nevertheless, the former President reemphasized that the decision whether Patterson should resign for his brother’s situation is up to the Minister and the President.
“Rashliegh Jackson took the high moral ground. There was nothing to say he had to…I’m not calling for [Patterson’s] resignation [for this]….I believe he should resign for other things,” Jagdeo asserted.
INews had reported that Patterson’s brother, 47-year-old Derrick Patterson was on Monday remanded to Grenada’s Richmond Hill Prison when he appeared at the St George’s Court before Chief Magistrate, Tamara Gill to answer to a cocaine possession charge.
According to The New Today, the Guyanese was charged with trafficking a total of 2.325kgs of cocaine, worth approximately $232,500.
He was remanded to prison.
Derrick Patterson, who is an evaluation supervisor, was visiting Grenada and residing at Captain Harris apartments in Grand Anse, St George.
The New Today stated that officers attached to the Drug Squad of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) intercepted a vehicle travelling in the vicinity of Springs on May 2 in which Derrick Patterson was the driver.
The vehicle was searched and the drugs were found inside of a plastic bag.
