WHO WILL BE THE PPPC PRESIDENTAL CANDIDATE?

Jun 25, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
The long and anxiously awaited ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice will be made on Tuesday when Guyanese will know whether or not former President, Bharat Jagdeo will be eligible to contest the Presidential election in 2020. If the Court rules that Jagdeo can run, it is almost likely that he would be party’s choice.
However, if the Court decides otherwise, there will be a scramble to determine who will be the party’s choice for the highest office of the Land. Jagdeo was not chosen because of his seniority or popularity for the job, but he was handpicked by Janet Jagan and her action sparked off dissatisfaction with certain top members of the party.
What added to the controversy was that the young President became haughty and was abusive to a few senior members including Ralph Ramkarran, Moses Nagamootoo, Khemraj Ramjattan and the late Navin Chandarpal. He even rebuked highly respected businessman Yesu Persaud at the launching of the Guyana Times Newspaper at the Pegasus Hotel. It was also reported that he was not too polite to Mrs. Jagan after he became President.
However, in all fairness to Jagdeo, he did an extremely good job in the early years of his Presidency when he lobbied for tens of millions of dollars of the country’s debt to be written off. He played a very important role in boosting the country’s economy and attracted investors.
When he relinquished office, Guyana was concluding its fifth consecutive year of strong economic growth. External debt had been almost half, and external reserves were almost three times their 2006 level. Wikipedia stated that during his regime unprecedented investment in social services took place enabling significantly improved access to education, rehabilitation of the health system, far-reaching land reform, the biggest expansion of the housing sector in the country’s history etc.
However, in spite of his brilliant performance as a leader in boosting the country’s economy, there were reports of massive fraud during his administration and he was accused of dishonesty by some of his ardent supporters in the diaspora. Some of them even lobbied for his removal. It is ironical that a few regretted their harsh words and action against Jagdeo because they are completely disappointed with the Coalition Government.
The billion dollar question is who will be the PPP candidate if the CCJ rules that he cannot run. Although former President Donald Ramotar is eligible to be a candidate, I do not think he will be in contention. The main candidates will be former attorney general, Anil Nandlall, former Culture and Sports Minister, Frank Anthony, and Irfaan Ali, another former minister. I think that Nandlall is the best choice, but we will have to wait and see
The bigger question is, “Can the PPP defeat the Granger administration?” The Coalition Government is doing everything possible to remain in office. Granger handpicked the GECOM Chairman and from reports, plans are afoot to ensure that the Coalition remains in office. A lot is at stake including the billons of dollars of oil money.
Oscar Ramjeet

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