Latest update June 3rd, 2026 12:40 AM
JAGDEO’S LEADERSHIP IS DIVIDING THE PPP
The new Leader of the Opposition has been President for 12 years out of the 23 years the PPP was in power. Towards the end of his term, he propitiously anointed Donald Ramotar to be the Presidential Candidate in the 2011 election. Elected with a minority government, former President Jagdeo assumed the role of de-facto President in the Ramotar government. But after losing the last election, Ramotar was cast aside for Jagdeo who became the leader of the PPP.
The reason for the coronation of Mr. Ramotar was because Jagdeo wanted the leadership to emerge from the highest echelons of the party and to have someone whom he could influence.
Those who had opposed the choice were threatened and told not to challenge his decision. Their disagreements and unhappiness have now spilled over into the dispute between Ramotar and Jagdeo.
Today, those acquainted with the PPP can vouch that the party is in fact divided and bruised by Jagdeo’s high-handed approach, which Mr. Ramotar seems to oppose. In fact, democracy has caught up with the group-think PPP which now finds itself more beleaguered than it has ever been in outing fires and quelling discontent among its leaders.
But credit must be given to the party leaders who have always come together when commonsense demands that they do. They will speak with one voice when they have to, despite being disgruntled with the leader because their first loyalty is to the party and their goal is to win every election.
The leaders have always put on a brave face in light of their disagreements but they would refrain from giving the party a bad press.
As leader, Jagdeo is desperately hoping that his approach will win the day but his many errors since he became the leader of the PPP have demonstrated that he is not the right person to lead the party. His incompetence, temperament and ultimatums have created a vexatious spirit among those who disagreed with him and they have also fractured the party.
However, the APNU+AFC government should know that every inept act or gross errors on its part would not only make them look silly, but they would also make-up for Jagdeo’s short-comings and at the same time boost the PPP ratings. But the people are so fed up with the corrupt and immoral behaviour of the PPP, they have flocked to the APNU+AFC government in droves.
The PPP is in a dilemma; it is divided and the bombastic leadership of its leader has made things even worse. There is no sense of magnanimity towards Jagdeo by his comrades, but out of necessity, they would act in unity.
Many are disgruntled with the way Mr. Ramotar was cast aside. Jagdeo, who prides himself as a transformational leader, has not done anything transformational during his Presidency or as Leader of the Opposition.
Not only has he undermined the policy of the government on the border dispute, he has opposed unity and has repeatedly tarnished the image of the country with his caustic statements. He has taken the party backward with his AphanJaat politics.
The tribal politics practiced by him is the primary reason for the party’s defeat in the last election. Why should the people support the PPP with all its corrupt practices and political infighting that has been the hallmark of the party since he assumed the leadership?
His practices, abandonment of the poor and support for his rich friends have mired Guyana in huge debt, heaped suffering upon the people, and made Guyana into a basket case and the scorn of the Caribbean. He has embittered too many people, impoverished Guyana and compromised its future.
The new government is part of a new experiment for social change which has made them feisty and relevant and the people hopeful.
However, its agenda for change must include constitutional reform that will make Guyanese truly sovereign. There must be economic reform that will create jobs and a strategy to reduce crime.It would require nobility of spirit and leadership.
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