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Anil Nandlall is being sacrificed at the altar of PPP expediency
Editor,
As uncertainty mounts and the constitutional deadline for new elections nears, many PPP hardliners and supporters are still trying to recover from the disbelief and shock that their views and freedom to choose a leader were hijacked by a few in the party.
Many scenarios are being flirted with the hope that a sensible reason might emerge to explain how and why Irfaan Ali was handed the presidential candidate over more learned, competent and deserving candidates, particularly Anil Nandlall.
One particular theory that is gaining ground among dissenters is that the PPP needs Anil Nandlall to keep them out of jail. True or false, this theory does have some logic to it. Recall that anytime Mr. Nandlall steps into a court room, the outcome for his clients is an almost certain victory.
Mr. Nandlall a well-respected professional with unmatched command of the law has proven himself many times over beginning with his appointment as the Attorney General in 2011 under the Ramotar administration. Simply put, Nandlall is an excellent lawyer who always delivers results, so much so that, in recent times, it has become a spectacle when the current AG, Basil Williams will go up against Nandlall with an all but familiar outcome.
With such an excellent reputation and winner, why would the PPP side line Nandlall instead of putting him at the helm to fight with the same determination and valour for all of Guyana? After all, this is the man who fought to save funding for education, healthcare and social security for thousands of Guyanese whose livelihood were at the mercy of APNU and AFC while they were in the opposition.
The answer is subtle and requires basic arithmetic and reasoning to understand. Mr. Nandlall provides expert legal services to the PPP, largely for free. A large proportion of PPP central committee members, over the last few years, are riddled with charges of fraud and corruption based on public court records.
The cost of legal representation provided by Mr. Nandlall to the PPP and members of the central committee over the years based on market rates is estimated to be north of a hundred million dollars.
Supporting Mr. Nandlall’s bid for the presidency would necessarily mean that the party highfliers would have to risk jail or fork out millions to pay for their legal defence.
If the reward for Mr. Nandlall’s endowment in the party and success as a lawyer is suppression of his growth and aspiration, why should he continue to pour into the party? I can almost hear the immediate response, “Well we need to look at the big picture; the PPP is the only party that can save Guyanese from the disastrous APNU-AFC Coalition, and Mr. Nandlall needs to keep the PPP out of their legal troubles and possibly jail”.
In essence, Nandlall needs to keep the PPP out of legal hell so that ordinary Guyanese can have a better life. But this argument defies logic, is flawed, and a loss-loss situation. Did Mr. Nandlall shoot himself in the foot by defending his party ‘comrades’ and keeping them out of jail?
Guyanese at large are not benefitting or likely to benefit from this arrangement. In fact, it is costing us a good leader, a man with the dignity, respect and integrity to lead Guyana to prosperous future.
Mr. Nandlall’s millions continue to lose compensation, time away from his family, while spending his intellectual capital, resources that he could have otherwise used to fight for the people of Guyana.
The final and perhaps most important question here for Guyanese, is if the PPP leaders can level such a judgment against a man who poured so much into the part and to whom many on the central committee owe so much to, what would they do to all of us who have nothing to give except our vote but desperately need a leader to look out for us?
Vishal Singh.
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