Developing a crisis of leadership

Sep 14, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
As Guyana’s ruling PPP/C party gears up to choose a replacement to succeed President Bharat Jagdeo, who is constitutionally ineligible for re-election, both overt and covert campaigning by potential candidates and their supporters have intensified. From the media it seems that a crisis of leadership is developing.
Arguably, if all PPP supporters were to have a vote in selecting the presidential candidate, the task would have been a difficult one.
That’s because the potential candidates (for example, Ralph Ramkarran, Donald Ramotar, Moses Nagamootoo, Robert Persaud, Navin Chandarpal) barely meet the criteria necessary for becoming the President of a country.
But, fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it – the 35 members of the PPP Central Committee and not the Party’s mass supporters will decide on the presidential candidate from the existing Central Committee members.
Who is the best candidate is an issue which is hotly being debated in the media, bottom-houses, rum shops, boardrooms, offices, other institutions, and by thousands of Guyanese.
In an unscientific survey by Caribbean Research Solutions on who the people would prefer to be President from among the existing frontrunners nearly 80% of those older than 50 years would like to see Ralph Ramkarran as the president.
His name is well known because of the sterling contributions to the PPP by him and his late father, Boysie Ramkarran.
Whether or not Ramkarran will be selected when the PPP Central Committee meets sometime soon will depend on a multitude of factors, principally among them the pressures being placed by the current President to have his candidate selected. It is apparent from many internal and external sources that Jagdeo wields considerable influence on some members of the Central Committee.
Evidently, the President wants his favourite candidate to be catapulted into the position of president, just as he was in August 1999.
If Jagdeo should get his way, then this would be blatant cronyism. This situation would be totally unacceptable to the people of Guyana who are knowledgeable enough to understand that a second-rate president would be an ineffective leader of the country.
Hence, if all of the aspiring candidates are judged in a fair and equitable manner then it’s obvious that the merits of a few are greater than others. For instance, it is well known that Donald Ramotar has served the PPP well for more than four decades, but has very limited public experience. His longevity and popularity are insufficient to meet the requirements of a presidential candidate.
On the other hand, Ralph Ramkarran, like Ramotar, has been associated with the PPP for more than 50 years. He was elected to the Central Committee of the PPP in 1974 and to the Executive Committee in 1975.
He has been Speaker of the House since 2001 – a role that has allowed him to deal with a range of issues at both the ruling and opposition Party levels. He was also Chairman of the Constitutional Reform Commission in 1999.
Ralph has the unique qualities of trustworthiness, competency and accountability which will make him acceptable to all ethnic groups as the best choice for presidential candidate. Unfortunately, he may not be a charismatic candidate like the late President, Cheddi Jagan.
Without doubt, Moses Nagamootoo is also a formidable candidate who has served the PPP very well. While he may get the support of many rural Indo-Guyanese it may be somewhat difficult to convince those in urban areas that he will represent their interests.
While Navin is bright and articulate, his scholarly nature may mitigate against him holding a very high political office. If Robert Persaud continues with the same enthusiasm and dedication, then he would be a serious contender for the office of president sometime in the future.
When all is said and written about who should be the presidential candidate we are, like many others, cognizant of the fact that when it comes down to “real brass tacks” what Guyana needs right now is someone who can effectively rid the country of its crime and corruption, and transform the country from its underdeveloped state into a vibrant and prosperous economy.
Dwarka Lakhan

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