Norton renews call for independent probe of bribery allegations against VP

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has once again issued a call for Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo to be removed from office amid the flurry of bribery allegations made against him by Chinese businessman Su Zhi Rong.

An undercover investigation by US-Based Vice News has alleged, among other things that the Chinese businessman who was a close friend of the Vice President, acted as a middleman for the Vice President and potential investors.

The Vice President has repeatedly denied the claims.

While the President has promised to investigate the claims, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton said he does not have confidence in the Guyana Police Force investigating the serious allegations.

“The President’s call for law enforcement to investigate Jagdeo rings hollow. In a democratic society, Jagdeo must be fired to pave the way for an independent investigation. The President can only be taken seriously if he fires the second Vice-President and he invites independent and credible investigators to deal with the allegations of bribery and corruption,” Mr. Norton said.

Mr. Norton said the allegations in the Vice News documentary pieces are serious and warrant an independent and impartial investigation. He said it cannot be business as usual and the President must demonstrate he is serious about fighting corruption in Guyana.

“Any democratic societies in the world, if the kind of allegations are made against a senior government official the first step that the government should take is to fire that person, remove them from office. How do you leave somebody like the Vice President in office as powerful as he is and then ask the police who live in fear, who you control and dominate to investigate,” Norton questioned.

Mr. Norton said as he prepares to meet with members of the Diplomatic Corps, he will once again raise the issue, given its seriousness and how it has been treated by the government.