Ramotar cannot unite the races

Oct 12, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
There are two very old sayings that have impacted societies in both positive and negative ways. One is “What goes up must come down” and the other is “The longest rope has an end.”
These are profound sayings that have been heard by many. Therefore, it is highly unlikely for one to believe that these sayings have not been insightful in helping to shape some of the norms in society.
But during the last nineteen years these two grandfather sayings have been viewed as baseless by many in the ruling party who believed that they were ordained by God to rule over the people of Guyana forever. They are wrong.
Based on the constitution, their leader will demit office by year end which supports the first saying. And if the views of the masses are reflective of who should govern them, then the PPP is likely to lose the election on November 28 and this subscribes to the second saying.
Most people in Guyana do not believe that presidential hopeful Donald Ramotar would be elected president because of his awkward and clumsy style and poor oratory skills. Mr. Ramotar is not an elegant speaker and he is not a statesman by any stretch of the imagination.
To be frank, Mr. Ramotar has not convinced me that he is a leader who can unite the races and develop the country. He is seen as a follower who takes his cue from Jagdeo. In simple terms, he is a puppet.
In these difficult times, Guyana needs skillful and disciplined leaders like Khemraj Ramjattan and Raphael Trotman to heal the racial divide, develop the economy and move Guyana into the 21st century. These are two young leaders who have the wherewithal to bring stability to the country and improve the lives of the people.
I mention their youth because it is Jagdeo who has said that David Granger of the APNU is an old man. This suggests that Jagdeo is not only cynical but is also very poor in his judgment.
Granger is 66 years old and Ramotar is 62—a difference of four years. So if Granger is an old man according to Jagdeo, then Ramotar is an old man too. It is this illogical and irrational reasoning that has made Jagdeo fearful of debates.
Unlike Mr. Jagdeo who has never debated anyone in his ten years as president, both Ramjattan and Trotman are capable and willing to engage Mr. Ramotar in debates.
But the PPP campaign manager Robert Persaud is not truthful when he accused the head of Merundoi, Ms. Margaret Lawrence, of embarrassing Mr. Ramotar because he has not responded to her request for a debate with the other leaders.
It must be noted that the Agriculture Minister went to great lengths to reveal Ms. Lawrence’s past associations with the intent to blame her for Ramotar’s non-response. This is an old trick by the PPP which will not work this time.
Guyanese are wise and could see the propaganda being peddled by the PPP. The truth is Ramotar is just like Jagdeo who does not have the requisite skills to debate anyone. Ramotar and the PPP will use every trick in the book to dodge the debates.
This is why Robert Persaud is on a vicious crusade to discredit Merundoi and Ms. Lawrence. It is an old tactic that the PPP uses to discredit the messenger and deceive the public to cover-up their crooked behavior.
Over the years, Jagdeo has constantly attacked Kaieteur News, its publisher, Glenn Lall, its editor, Adam Harris, and its columnist, Freddie Kissoon for exposing corruption and fraud by the PPP.
In one of my letters, I wrote that the Jagdeo/Ramotar PPP is vastly different from the Cheddi Jagan PPP, which was compassionate and fought for the working class. The Jagdeo/Ramotar PPP is vindictive and does not care about the working class but their rich and powerful friends.
The Jagdeo/Ramotar PPP is associated with fraudsters like Edul Ahmad, the $300 million Barber shop computer scandal, the bankruptcy of Clico, the malfunctioning of GUYSUCO, the denial of funds to Critchlow Labor College, and the $69 million NIS building corruption scandal, just to name a few.
The Jagdeo/Ramotar PPP acted as judge, jury, and executioner when it suspended Sharma’s TV for
four months on October 3, then under pressure from various civic and political groups, deferred it to December 1. The PPP cabal has and continues to distribute state resources including the ocean front house lots to their relatives and friends.
Dr Roger Luncheon’s statement that he offered his good friend Mortimer Mingo (PNC Region 10 chairman) a house lot by the ocean shows who gets to covet the best lands in Guyana.
After 45 years of independence and PNC and PPP rule, Guyana remained a failed state and the poorest among its CARICOM members. An AFC government led by Khemraj Ramjattan and Raphael Trotman will defend the civil liberties of all Guyanese, limit government’s interference in the political, economic and social issues of the people, and ensure that every citizen, irrespective of race, colour, religion and political association has equal access to the resources of the state and the national decision-making process as outlined in Article 13 of the Constitution. This will be the sacred duty and responsibility of the AFC if elected to office.
Asquith Rose

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