The writing is on the wall

May 30, 2009 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
The media, not only the Government-controlled, speak of the disintegration of the PNC and have written off their leadership.
The view is strongly conveyed that there is no hope for the party and that it is finished without any comeback.
The writers and commentators do not carefully look at the PPP for if they did, they would see that that party is equally disintegrating. Its disintegration is based on the following facts:
(i) Though it is two years away from the Presidential elections, the PPP is already split into fragments over the question of a Presidential candidate.

These cracks are papered over for the time being because the PPP are in Government, but they will grow wider as the time for election approaches.
(ii) Most important is the well-known fact that the PPP depends on the PNC for its existence and vice versa. PPP supporters have voted for that party because of fear of the PNC.
Now that the PNC has almost disintegrated, the fear has been removed.
This trend started in the last elections where thousands of PPP supporters abstained, as could be seen by analyses of the voting patterns.

The abstentions would grow greater in the coming elections. Also, the existence of the AFC now makes it possible for PPP supporters to find a suitable alternative to the PPP.
(iii) The older and more respected members and supporters of the Party are fast moving off the scene, either by death or withdrawal, and this important cement of holding the entity together is being removed.
It is also removing the ethos of honesty and devotion to the Party. The younger leadership of the Party is guilty of furthering their own self-destruction in this regard.
(iv) The PPP arguably has less and less devoted politicians in its leadership.
Most of the Ministers are now technocrats and are not politicians dedicated to staying with the Party.
Most have no interest in doing Party work and the so-called organizers are jaded and inefficient.
The PPP is therefore decaying internally with this dearth of dedicated and capable party managers and workers.

It is just a question of time before the Party runs out of steam and comes to a halt.
(v) Many PPP supporters have become discouraged by what they perceive as corruption within the Party. Others have a feeling of ennui (boredom) and really do not care if they voted or not.
I predict that the PPP will suffer a fate similar to the PNC and will equally be off the scene in a few years.
The people of Guyana would not be particularly upset at the disappearance of these two political parties, now that the possibility has come about in such an unexpected way
But could these historic parties be reformed, saved from disintegration, and again be of some service to the people of Guyana?

It would be very difficult to stop the PNC from sliding down the slope of disintegration and it would involve a very large and comprehensive paper to consider how this trend could be reversed.
The PNC would still survive until the next election but would become more and more miniscule as happened to the WPA.
The PPP has a sporting chance of giving itself a longer lease of life. That Party could only be rescued for the time being by two things:-

(a) Have Mr Bharrat Jagdeo immediately take over the running of the Party, enforcing discipline and financial control and surveillance.
Mr Jagdeo, who is the most able PPP leader, would have to assume this role for the rest of his Presidency and when he retires as President, take on the role Janet Jagan played in enforcing discipline and financial control and management. But would Mr Jagdeo be interested and would he show that devotion to the Party?

(b) A proper PPP Presidential candidate should be decided upon about a year before the elections.
None of the names mentioned have inspiring or vibrant personalities or leadership qualities and none is universally acceptable in the PPP or outside of the Party.

The only PPP leader who has the status, carriage and acceptability as a Presidential candidate, both inside and outside of the PPP is Speaker of Parliament, Ralph Ramkarran, but those who control the Party machinery are apparently bent on excluding Ramkarran.
Except an acceptable Presidential candidate is identified in a reasonable time, the greed for office will consume many and fragment the Party. The writing is on the wall.
Bishun Bhagwandas

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