Power fight in the AFC: Nagamootoo versus Ramjattan

Jan 30, 2019 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Neither of the two deserves to be Prime Minister. Both are politicians that have damaged the future of this unlucky nation. Both will be rejected by the electorate. Both will be rejected by the PNC leadership for the position of Prime Minister. The power struggle in the AFC should not concern this nation.
Saturday’s statutory meeting of the executive committee of the AFC was one of the most unusual for any party in this country’s history. It is not normal for a statutory meeting of 35 persons to be extended to 108. But in the ensuing power struggle between Ramjattan and Nagamootoo, each of these two leaders and their high-level backers invited their supporters in anticipation of the resolutions that would be put to the floor. As it turned out, there was a full blown struggle between Ramjattan and Nagamootoo.
Up to a year ago, the slot firmly belonged to Ramjattan, because in 2016 Nagamootoo declared that the 2015 campaign was his swansong. He told this writer in late 2015, he would not run for office in the 2020 election. The AFC leadership has operated since then with the acceptance that should the AFC go back with APNU, the PM role will be assigned to Ramjattan. Earlier this year, Nagamootoo had a change of heart. At last Saturday’s meeting, things went sour.
Ramjattan’s intention of settling the PM’s position was derailed, because the resolution was not put to the floor. But something Trotman mentioned in his official speech to the gathering resulted in deep anger among Ramjattan backers. AFC personnel told me that there was no press release on the prime ministerial issue, but the Chronicle carried it to make it look like that. They put the blame on Nagamootoo and his point man, Imran Khan, who has a big say in what the Chronicle puts out.
The Chronicle headline went like this, “AFC backs Granger-Nagamootoo ticket.” The paper reported that; “Through a statement issued at the end of the party’s National Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, Guyana Chronicle was told that Nagamootoo appeared to have gained the nod of his party. There was wide, almost unanimous endorsement for Mr. Nagamootoo.”
Ramjattan supporters told me the Chronicle’s reporting was mischievous. They indicated that there was no statement whatsoever after the meeting about the identification of the PM’s slot. No other media house reported that the meeting endorsed Nagamootoo. Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News published what Trotman told the gathering. In his delivery as leader, Trotman reaffirmed his confidence in the Granger-Nagamootoo combination for the future. As it stands, there is no statement or document or word that is the official position of the AFC in relation to who will be its prime ministerial candidate in the coalition with APNU.
One can say that Ramjattan was the victor at last Saturday’s confabulation. A resolution was proposed by attorney, Joel Edmond (husband of Chronicle board chairman, Geeta Chandan) and accepted by consensus, that the AFC must have its biennial congress no later than March. The congress was due the first week in February, but was postponed because of the controversy over the no confidence vote.
Nagamootoo backers did not want the congress. They argued that the AFC should concentrate on the election uncertainty and be prepared for eventual election if the court rules in favour of the no-confidence vote. In such a scenario, the AFC would have had the same leadership and accepted the same configuration, that is, a Nagamootoo-Granger ticket.
The Ramjattan camp said that there will be a motion from the floor to nominate Ramjattan for the PM candidacy, and if there are other contenders then the delegates will decide. My own thinking is if such a motion goes to the floor, Ramjattan will win and for one simple, ordinary reason. Delegates will be persuaded to accept the principle of rotation.
Ramjattan has been in that situation before. In 2011, Trotman proposed that they go with the same formula of Trotman for the presidency with Ramjattan having the PM compartment. This was a diversion from the agreement in 2006 that the two positions would rotate. Trotman’s suggestion created sharp divisions in the AFC. Now we have a reproduction of the conflict, but this time it is Ramjattan versus Nagamootoo.
Ramjattan won another round last Saturday when the delegates agreed to install a secretariat at the AFC’s head office. One powerful leader proposed that it be run by Dr. Vincent Adams, but Ramjattan saw this as a move to undermine his supporter, the General-Secretary, Marlon Williams. Both Williams and Ramjattan argued that the secretariat must be administered by the General-Secretary. The delegates accepted that. The AFC may be imploding.

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