How Prepared is the PPP/C for next General Election?

Dec 11, 2018 Letters

Editor,

A strong government is as strong as the opposition. Since the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled against Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo as a third-term presidential candidate, PPP party leadership has focused and revolved around one issue: Who is the next presidential candidate?
This question has created doubts in the minds of many Guyanese about the process and procedures of selecting the next candidate when Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo has intentionally decided to delay the process as long as possible? Why? Having read many newspaper articles and the social media, I have decided (as a care-giving Guyanese) to offer three compelling reasons as follows:
a) Leadership Inertia: The leader of any organization, including the PPP, must envision the direction of the party, empower his followers, and ensure that changes are necessary to continue to serve the people. Mr. Jagdeo knows that he must prepare the Party to select the next presidential candidate.
This means that he may possibly give up his current positions as Leader of the Party, the PPP General Secretary, and Leader of the opposition. Is he willing to give up these high-income positions, or the most Influential position in the political arena? From his words and actions, he is comfortable to hold on to these three positions as long as possible even if the PPP lost the next general election.
In other words, he suffers from organizational inertia in that he fails to make the necessary changes by making way for the incoming new leader and instead continues doing what he used to do: The Granger Administration rigged the election.
b) 7/8 Pension Ex-President: Many poor Guyanese look-up to Mr. Jagdeo as the champion of the poor. A true champion of the poor must not be seen to receive excessive salaries and benefits but must be prepared to accept a cut in salary and make donations to the poor. Instead, Mr. Bharrat awarded himself salary increases from less than G$200,000 per month to over $1 Million just before he left office as the president.
Also, he signed into law that any increase(s) in salary for new presidents, his current pension will also automatically increase by 7/8 of those of the current president. I can understand his salary increases if he is a family person with children and married. He has no children nor is he a family person. His house is like a mansion while the poor live in wooden structures. Now, how genuine is Mr. Jagdeo as being champion of the poor? Who does he represent other than himself?
c) PPP/C Internal Structure: Recent research shows that most key voting members of the party wish for a leadership change but are reluctant to openly do so. Why? If one reads carefully the PPP constitution, decision-making flows from the top to the bottom. Who is at the top other Mr. Jagdeo, managing the Party like a military organization.
Does Guyana need another dictator leadership style government? Are the central executive members responsible for the way Mr. Jagdeo manipulates them into believing that the Party is for all Guyanese?
The above three arguments posit that a weak opposition party is in the making and is unable to position itself to effectively challenge the current APNU+AFC administration in the next general election. Hence, a weak opposition party can be translated into a potentially weak government.

Sincerely,
Nandkishore Gobin Persaud

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