A big warning to all Guyanese!

August 10, 2009 By KNews Filed Under Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Please do not accept polling statistics and surveys that go under the name NACTA with a “pollster” by the name of, Vishnu Bisram. There is no such organization. It does not exist. There has never been such an organization.

There is no group, institution or organization by the name of NACTA that does polling anywhere in the world. No Google search, no investigation in New York, no journalistic research will reveal any information on NACTA or polling work done by a man named Vishu Bisram. What searchers will find are publications by Mr. Bisram himself talking about polls he said he conducted.

Two years ago, Mr. Bisram was exposed as doing polls under the umbrella of an organization named NACTA. David De Caires, one year before he died, found out that Mr. Bisram was not being truthful to him. The late editor-in-chief of the Stabroek News then penned an editorial note in his newspaper explaining how he came to publish Mr. Bisram surveys.

According to Mr. De Caires, last year, Mr. Bisram approached him to have Stabroek News finance a poll. Mr. De Caires said he merely offered a small sum to defray expenses. Mr. De Caires went on to say that Mr. Bisram merely handed him the results and there were no discussions on how and where in the Guyana the operation took place and who were Mr. Bisram’s associates.

After this, Mr. Bisram sent in two poll results and the Stabroek boss informed him that they will have to be carried as letters by Mr. Bisram. They were published in the letters section of the Stabroek News. Mr. Bisram waited and now has resurfaced. He would not have reappeared if David De Caires was alive.

In seeing the publication of Mr. Bisram’s latest poll on Mr. Jagdeo, I immediately sent off an e-mail to Mr. Anand Persaud, the editor-in-chief of the Stabroek News alerting Mr. Persaud to Mr. Bisram’s game. I don’t think we can blame Mr. Persaud for publishing the personalized fictional survey on Mr. Jagdeo last Saturday. I don’t think he has the background information on Mr. Bisram.

There were a number of the reasons why David De Caires refused to accept further submissions by Mr. Bisram. He couldn’t provide details on NACTA. He couldn’t name its elected executives and locate its address and telephone numbers.

Then, Mr. Bisram gave a horrible explanation for why he could not state which school he worked at even though he claimed he was a high school teacher. In both the KN and SN as he was pressed to say where he worked, he wrote; “With regard to my employment, I have sound reasoning for not releasing such information. I held a teaching position and someone tried to get me fired.

That individual is now employed as an advisor the Guyana Government. My place of employment should remain private.”(KN, March 25, 2008). Readers can see Mr. Bisram wrote that more than a year ago. This did not impress David De Caires.

There was more that turned Mr. De Caires off. Mr. Bisram was finally exposed and he disappeared. He wrote in both newspapers as the criticism against him poured in. “Most of my polls are self-financed as part of my personal studies.” Then came the denouement. When pressed as to who he works with when he is in Guyana, he wrote; “In Guyana, I cannot give names because they (his co-workers) will run into trouble with their employment; they worked for me when they should have been at their desk.”

It was for these reasons David De Caires rejected further publications of Bisram’s so-called polls. He chose not to approach this newspaper because of my queries of his bona fides. He knew I would have asked this newspaper to investigate him.

In addition, he promised the editor of this newspaper to confidentially supply the name of the school he teaches at in New York but to this day, never sent in the information.
Let me repeat for all readers and all the Guyanese people - the late Editor-in-chief of the Stabroek News refused to publish any further findings on Guyanese politics by Mr. Bisram because he, Bisram was exposed. It is unfortunate he waited for time to elapse and sought the attention of Mr. Anand Persaud. Mr. Bisram does not conduct polls in Guyana.

He is not a teacher in New York, and is suspected to be a researcher for President Jagdeo. Five polls he has done over a five year period puts Mr. Jagdeo as the most popular living citizen in Guyana. I urge all Guyanese not to be taken in by Mr. Bisram. He is not a professional pollster.