PPP Presidential candidate dilemma

Jul 06, 2018 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Now that former President Bharrat Jagdeo has been legally barred from becoming President again, the lid has been blown off the candidates’ can over at Freedom House.
Potentials are trying to get out, but the environment seems harsh, as in the case of Charles Ramson Jr. He probably created that himself, thinking that the freeway was cleared and that the early jump was advantageous. Clearly his well-intended action was ill-thought out. So was Jagdeo’s response, in part which played into the hands of his internal opposition.
Public denial cannot hide the division within the PPP which may have gotten wider following the recent CCJ ruling. There is the Jagdeo faction and all others who oppose. The Jagdeoites, which, in many ways, represent forward thinking through progressive and visionary ideas, would want to preserve their current position as rightful leaders for future prosperity. The others, the non-Jagdeoites, bent in preventing the Jagdeoites from succeeding for reasons they deem worthy, are accused of being sterile in progressive thinking and trapped in the distant past.
This division is officially being kept out of the public domain for obvious reasons. With barbs being traded constantly, fortification on both sides appears to be ongoing, creating an unwanted dilemma.
Justification abounds from both; the Jagdeoites with a claimed proven track record of progressiveness and new thinking and the non-Jagdeoites with counter accusations of a wealthy undemocratic elite clique consumed with self-enrichment. While both can be considered fair arguments, if no common ground is found, the Party can be catapulted to an undesired precipice.
Many, including the droves that abandoned the PPP and voted for the AFC, are now convinced that the current coalition government continues to mismanage the country and has assaulted the nation with economic burdens. With a perceived lack of vision and no clue on how to manage the economy, the government seems incapable of even trying to achieve at least some shades of prosperity seen under the Jagdeo’s presidency. This alone continues to give a compelling reason for the return of the PPP.
The 2020 elections could therefore be premised on the future of Guyana and its people in terms of being able to sustain decent livelihoods. The government by its action since 2015 seems continually willing to give the PPP the edge on economic management. However, the government still has some time and all available state resources to pull rabbits out of the proverbial hat. Whether that will be able to flip voters who may have already turned, is to be seen.
There is no ambiguity; Jagdeo was responsible for the unprecedented economic progress, the country’s positive transformation, the advancement of a broad base of Guyanese and the creation of enabling environments to push progress and the accumulation of wealth for ordinary citizens, as seen through many years of sustained economic growth. The evident transformation of the country’s infrastructure could justify the bestowed title of the architect of modern Guyana.
This is what the non-Jagdeoites are refusing to accept, despite their claims. Their opposition, on the grounds of personal enrichment to benefit a few and their friends and autocracy, seems to taken hold in some quarters. This is fueled by sections of the media, possibly fed in some way by the internal accusers.
Many of this group, who would have served Jagdeo as President, cite facts as against vendetta. Some have not been bashful in their condemnation of him being dictatorial and petty, with a penchant to publicly crush those who oppose him. Some public opinions may give credibility to this.
This presents a herculean task for the Party to reconcile for an acceptable candidate with the sole intention of winning first and then kick-starting economic progress. Who will give in for the good of the Party in the first instance, and for all Guyanese in the second? The PPP, regardless of its flaws, is still the best Party to manage the country. However, that, in this modern time, is premised on the candidate.
Political maturity will therefore be brought into play and the faster the Party can engage its leadership meaningfully and fairly to derive a winnable candidate, the better it will be for the nation.The General Secretary of the PPP has a prescribed function for this process and to steer the Party through it. Jagdeo is the General Secretary and is extremely popular which will further irk the opposing faction. He possibly stands to be accused by those who oppose him of influencing the process even if he doesn’t. Fairness will therefore be brought into question if accusations surrounding Donald Ramotar’s candidacy are true.
When all is said and done, regardless of who emerges, Jagdeo’s economic prowess cannot be banished. He will have to play a fundamental role at least for the sake of the country in rebuilding the economic machinery. If a non-Jagdeoite is crowned, the biggest mistake he or she will make is to diminish or remove Jagdeo and some of the Jagdeoites from the process of returning Guyana to its once prosperous state. One way or the other, a dilemma, unfortunately, will be ever-present.
Sincerely
Rajendra Doodnauth
New Jersey
USA

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