Peeping Tom – You Decide

May 21, 2008 Peeping Tom

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President Jagdeo is becoming like an old car. He is, in common parlance, “taking crank.” Just over a week ago he called a press conference to announce the measures his government was taking to deal with the increased cost of living.

There were critical responses to some of the issues he raised at that press conference. Instead of leaving the task of dealing with these criticisms to his highly-paid public relations staff, he decided to call an impromptu press briefing at State House to respond.

This was again followed by further criticisms. And true to form, the President called another press conference to deal with the additional criticisms such as those that dealt with the polygraph test of CANU officers.

Judging from this ridiculous charade, you would believe that Guyana has a one-man government. In fact the Minister of Home Affairs had responded effectively to the criticisms leveled against the polygraph tests and there was no need therefore for the President to intervene.

But what we have in Guyana is a President that likes to get involved in almost all aspects of government, even though he has quite capable Ministers. This view was underscored after the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce met with members of the business community and public transportation operators to deal with cost of living issues.

The Minister seemed to have been making progress. Yet, within days of these meetings it was announced that the President was meeting with leaders of the religious community, with members of the private sector and with public transport operators.

Why does a sitting President want to involve himself in these matters instead of allowing his Ministers to take the initiative and conclude arrangements? How can any country operate on this basis? Not even a cake shop can be successfully run on the basis of the owner having to do everything.

All of these things that are happening have helped to cultivate in the minds of the public the perception that without the President this country will fall apart. It has also nurtured the widespread myth that the President is doing an excellent job but is being let down by his subordinates. You travel around this country and you will hear people saying, “Jagdeo, okay, but his Ministers are letting him down.”

I think that it is time that we debunk that myth. What we have in this country is a style of political management that reduces Ministers to clerks. And this is not right. No Minister will attract the requisite level of respect if that Minister is not given the required level of authority and power.

If there is anything that will bring about progress in this country it is by empowering Ministers and public officials. There are persons within the government who have the know-how to make a difference in this country but their talents are being woefully underutilized.

Of course there are some Ministers who have been lucky in garnering the resources and independence necessary for them to standout and be star performers. I need not call names.

This of course has led to other myths about these Ministers, so much so that some of them are being touted as suited to succeed Jagdeo.

So just who will succeed President Bharrat Jagdeo? The PPP says that it would not be drawn into speculation at this time. This is a fair position for the executive of the party to take, but it should not preclude the public from discussing who they think should lead the party and the country into the next elections and ultimately become the next President of Guyana.

The PPP may be far better than the PNCR but it has made a number of mistakes. And while there may be a temptation to claim that the party has little say under Jagdeo, the party has shown little willingness to find common ground with the opposition even on the issue of offering sympathies to the victims of massacres. Both the victims and the government have been uncompromising when it comes to running this country.

This is the tragedy that Guyana faces. Given the nature of Guyanese politics, what is most needed is for greater inclusiveness in the governance of Guyana. The next President of Guyana must therefore be someone willing to make political concessions.

In short what Guyana needs is someone unlike President Bharrat Jagdeo as its next President.
There are however other qualifications. Political experience both within and outside of Government is necessary. Also, the person so selected must be known and respected throughout the country. Finally, running a country requires boundless energy and stamina which predisposes towards youth.

The PPP needs change. The PPP needs someone that will break from the old guard. Jagdeo did not do that. He was the reincarnation of the old guard. Is there such a person within the PPP? You decide.

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