Policies that make up the 2011 PPP/C manifesto are planks that Peter Ramsaroop has advocated

Oct 16, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
He is known to be frank and outspoken, a character trait that often gets him into trouble. On his Facebook page, Peter Ramsaroop wrote, “We must ensure the right for all Guyanese to pay less taxes, to have the opportunity to compete for jobs , the creation of an expanded transport led economy , those have been my planks for a decade. It’s a new decade and we must now work together in National Unity with healing and reconciliation to move Guyana to the next Level. Time for the bickering of politicians to stop. I call on the President to tone down his rhetoric and call on the main opposition to find a more suitable candidate that understands this generation.”
A few days earlier, on Monday, November 10, I joined a facebook discussion that Ramsaroop was having with some of his facebook friends, when he provoked the wrath of the controversial, self proclaimed social activist Mark Benschop with this remark, “I believe we have the weakest of any opposition candidates in the last four elections. The time we needed our critical planks to be heard and championed.”
Well, who told Peter to say that…Benschop could not wait to get on-air to make this his topic of the night. With anger and belligerence, Benschop lambasted this patriot on his radio program in an effort to discredit him, when mere minutes earlier, he was pushing Ramsaroop to endorse the AFC.
I was not spared either, and was referred to as a “soup drinker of the PPP”, and a “salesman for the PPP”. Benschop even accused President Jagdeo of being “the head of a “PPP lead death squad”. But of course, Benschop is not as dumb as he sometimes appears, for he’s well aware that he’s protected against internet libel and slander. When he plays the race-card by calling Dr. Cummings, Joe Hamilton and Gillian Burton “House Slaves” and asked, “Can anybody say to me, how on earth can anyone in their right mind, any African Guyanese in their right mind link up with such a crew? A PPP crew? Can you believe… Look…. I woulda prefer they gone over and join the AFC.”
So here you have it… If these people had all supported the AFC, they would have been knights in shining armor. But an endorsement of the PPP/C is cause for character assassination by the same people who believe they can unify our people.
I believe Peter Ramsaroop is on the right track. Whatever difference he may have had in the past with the Jagdeo Administration, he knows that the only way to make a meaningful contribution to the land we all love, is by working with the new Ramotar government on those planks they have in common. In politics, every smart politician knows the art of compromise to get the best for their constituencies. Recent examples are that of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, who both thought of Barrack Obama as a light-weight, too inexperienced to manage the economy of the United States. Now they both serve at the highest level of his Administration.
PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Donald Ramotar already declared his desire to work with those who oppose him, “As President of Guyana, I will take their views into consideration; I will seek consensus and try as far as possible to reach agreement with them”. This is something Peter Ramsaroop believes in. He wants the bickering of politicians to stop, and for them to work together in the common interest of all Guyanese. Many of the policies and programs that make up the 2011 PPP/C manifesto are planks that Peter Ramsaroop has advocated for years. So why not work with the new PPP/C government to help bring these to fruition?
For too long, the opposition believed their roll in government is to be obstructionist. This mentality serves no one’s interest, and interferes with the nation’s progress. Peter Ramsaroop needs to be where he can make a difference in the lives of ordinary Guyanese. He is too knowledgeable and resourceful to be wasted in the opposition.
And for those like Mark Benschop who can’t understand the reason he jumps from party to party, let me try to put this in perspective:
Peter knows what he wants. He is looking for a political party whose planks mirror his, and has been disappointed that those he had been associated with, preach something totally different from what they practice. Peter is a man of principle, and may choose to subject himself to the adverse views of others, but he will never compromise on anything that will deny a better standard of living for Guyanese, or stand in the way of development and prosperity for our native land.
Harry Gill

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Policies that make up the 2011 PPP/C manifesto are planks that Peter Ramsaroop has advocated

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