Robert Persaud as PPP presidential nominee should please the opposition

Mar 15, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
I am bemused by the antics of the Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud as reported by the SN recently and his being coy about being the “dark horse” as PPP presidential nominee/candidate.
I have no doubt in my mind that Persaud will become the presidential nominee but at a great price! My thinking is that Mr. Jagdeo (as others have pointed out) wants to do a “Putin” in Guyana by be defacto president even after he would have left office, by having an extended family-member in that office (although Medvedev was not a family member of Putin to the best of my knowledge.)
Anyway, with Persaud holding the reins as president, Jagdeo can continue his shenanigans with taxpayers’ money and property. Persaud will soon tell us just as Jagdeo did (Comrade Janet is my president) that Comrade Jagdeo is “his” president – if he even makes it that far.
He will carry out or continue many of “his” president’s programmes and policies including the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative, the Marriott Hotel and the Road To nowhere (Amaila Falls) Project to name a few.
However, this nomination will have a tsunami-like effect on the foundations of the PPP with the prospect of that organisation splintering into warring enclaves and eventually imploding!
In the end though this might prove to be a good thing for the PPP as out of that implosion a newer, more democratic and modern thinking organisation should emerge.
The PNC has gone through this painful but necessary process (even though it is not complete as yet) and has nominated a very credible candidate in Brigadier (Retired) Granger. The PPP then is caught in a time warp and also between a rock and a hard place and must weigh the effects/consequences of a “young Turk”- Persaud, going up against the “old head”- Granger and the middle-aged Ramjattan.
However, I firmly believe that with Persaud as presidential nominee the following will happen:
1. The PPP will not get 50 % of the votes as required to form the next government and will be defeated;
2. The PNC and the AFC will (out of necessity) form a coalition government.
In my opinion, if Persaud succeeds as the nominee Moses Nagamootoo will and should join forces and defect from the PPP and join with the AFC thus becoming the ‘king-maker’ and in a position to make a significant historical contribution to our country. With Nagamootoo in the AFC’s corner many more votes will come into the AFC coffers from rural areas, especially Berbice.
In all of this though Nagamootoo will face vilification, a royal “cussin down” and being called traitor but he should stand firm and chart a new course in his political life. Nagamootoo still has a lot to offer Guyana and he should come to the realisation that he cannot accomplish his dreams for a better Guyana through the PPP anymore. That ship has sailed and he needs to come on board the newest “ship” on the block the AFC and give his experience and service as a key member of the new government of Guyana. His wise tutelage of the AFC will guide that party in partnership with other stakeholders. “Nagas” will return from the wilderness just like Ram did when he was banished, and return light to our land in partnership with other patriotic men and women committed to service and removing evil and darkness from our dear country.
Clyde Pestano

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Robert Persaud as PPP presidential nominee should please the opposition

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