APNU Member of Parliament caught stealing electricity

Harry Gill: Corruption is like a deadly cancer that is difficult to eradicate. The former Jagdeo Administration has been plagued with allegations of corruption for years, and it has been the platform theme of the opposition parties leading up to Nation Elections last November.
Throughout the campaign, PNC/APNU and the AFC were relentless in accusing the PPP/C as corrupted and undeserving of another five years in government. But what is good for the goose, is also good for the gander, as I’ve told John Adams shortly after he was sworn in as a member of Parliament representing APNU.
Was he vetted to ensure his character was impeccable to serve in the people’s honorable house? Was a background check ever done on this APNU Parliamentarian to guard against embarrassing his own party? I doubt David Granger would ever approve a thief of electricity sitting on his side of the bench in Parliament. But this is exactly who John Adams is… a common thief who was arrested and was released on $50,000.00 bail for stealing electricity from Guyana Power and Light -GPL.
On October 24, 2010, GPL disconnected the electrical supply for non-payment, and seized meter #59149 from a house on the eastern half of lot 22 Fellowship Street in Den Amstel, owned by John Goring. Before his demise, Mr. Goring resided in Brooklyn, New York, but John Adams has been living there for over 10 years now as caretaker of that property. That is where he resides.
Sometime after this meter was seized, Adams illegally re-connected his service, and was caught on three different occasions by GPL. He was arrested and taken to Den Amstel Police Station, where he was released on $50,000 bail. GPL declined to prosecute after Adams agreed to repay GPL the sum of $248,165.00 to compensate for the energy he stole.
At the opening of Parliament last Thursday, I had a brief interview with John Adams in which he admitted paying the $50,000 bail after being arrested, but denied that he was responsible for the repayment of the G$248,165.00 by saying, “It was not that amount of money, I just live at the house, I rent the house, but the system was already there… I (now) have a new meter, a new system everything” When I reminded Adams that he has been living in that house for over ten years, and asked whether he believes the owner of the house was responsible for energy he was using, he replied, “I may have used some of it… “ Again I asked if he has intentions of repaying the money he owes GPL, to which he replied, “I went into a contract with GPL and I pay them on a monthly basis.”
How John Adams was given a new meter is currently under investigation, for his application did not go through the established process, and the meter was given without the $248,165.00 being added to his new account. However, when this was later discovered and the amount added to his account, he begged GPL for time to pay this off.
These are the facts: GPL records in the Lost Reduction Unit (Service Order number 218685) show John Adams making payments of $50,000 in July 2010; $36,000 in May 2011; and another amount of $60,000 that same month. He’s still owing GPL a balance of $102,165. Yet he denied stealing electricity from GPL despite verifiable evidence. Who does he think he’s fooling?
John Adams is also linked to stealing electricity at the Den Amstel Community Center where he holds a senior position. Sometime last year, GPL was forced to install a Pre-Paid meter there. He is also suspected of renting out the grounds for shows, and converting the money to his personal use.
When asked about this, he says in his defense, “I’m not the treasurer of the Den Amstel Community Center” and denied these allegations. Is this the type of character we want in Parliament? Was David Granger coerced in approving Adams as a Member of Parliament?
Of course I expect John Adams to deny all of the above after this letter is published. But as his namesake, the former President of the United States once said, “Facts are stubborn things.”
I believe the Constitution of Guyana forbids and prohibits characters like John Adams from serving in the National Assembly. He is a common thief who lacks the integrity and good judgement to contribute to laws that affects the lives of all Guyanese.
How can he faithfully execute the office of member of National Assembly without fear or favor, affection or ill-will, and that in the execution of the functions of that office, he will honor, uphold and preserve the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana as he pledged to do?
How can he possibly earn the respect of his esteem colleagues when he is guilty of robbing the treasury of revenues?
How can he, in good conscience and as caretaker of someone else’s property, put that house at server risk of being destroyed by fire due to faulty electrical wiring.
As a result, I call upon PNC Leader, Robert Corbin and Leader of the Opposition, David Granger to explain to the Guyanese people and more so to their own supporters, what criteria was used in the selection of John Adams, to represent PNC/APNU in the National Assembly at the expense of the more qualified and experienced Aubrey Norton and Mervin Williams.
I further call upon David Granger, in the spirit of the new image he’s trying to mold for the PNC/APNU, to remove this disgraceful, dishonorable and dishonest member from Parliament, and replace him with someone who has earned the right to be there.