Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall believes that the minority political party – the Alliance for Change (AFC) is displaying double standards, following the announcement that its Chairman, Nigel Hughes has withdrawn his resignation.
Hughes tendered his resignation on August 6, following revelations that he is the Company Secretary of Sithe Global – the then main investor of the controversial Amaila Falls Project.
At a press conference yesterday (Thursday September 5) Hughes told reporters that he decided to withdraw his resignation from the Party because there was a public outcry for him to remain Chairman of the AFC.
Hughes wife, Cathy Hughes, who is also a member and parliamentarian of the Alliance for Change, is the Public Relations Officer of Sithe Global. Upon tendering his resignation, the AFC did not accept it, citing full confidence in Hughes.
Meanwhile, in an invited comment, Nandlall told iNews, “It means that the AFC is saying one thing in words but their actions are in the complete opposite direction. You would recall that the AFC conceptually professed itself to be the instrument of change in Guyana’s politics. In their equation of change, they arrogated onto themselves the position of the Party that will be the voice of morality in Guyana’s politics.”
According to Nandlall, “Unfortunately, everything that they do and continue to do, establish beyond rational doubt that they have abandoned or are incapable of compiling with their idealistic standards.”
He further noted, “The Nigel Hughes fiasco is a classic example of the same. This gentleman was Company Secretary for a company that was perceived to be controversial by the opposition including his own Party. The opposition and his own party have constantly been complaining about the lack of full and frank disclosure about Sithe Global and the Amaila Falls for years and this gentleman sat quietly in a corner without disclosing that he is the company secretary of this company. For years, his Party has been requesting documents in respect this company and the Amaila Falls Project. The Company Secretary in any company is the legal custodian of the records of the company. Mr. Hughes sat idly by all those years, not disclosing that he has or ought to have access to the very records which his party is clamoring for.”
Nandall explained that it would have been a completely different scenario if a PPP member was found in a similar situation.
“These are only some of the incidences of the double standards and these are the precise issues that the AFC loves to shout about and here it is, it is happening in its own house and rather than condemn the political immorality, which has taken place, they condone it. One only has to imagine if a government officer or a PPP member was found in such a situation, what the response of the AFC would have been. They would have jumped on every house top in this country to condemn it at the top of their voice. Today they sneak it quietly under the carpet and hopes that it blows over.”
