Has Ramjattan finally defeated Nagamootoo?

Oct 02, 2019 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

For the past three months, since the June Congress of the AFC where Ramjattan was identified as the AFC nominee for the PM candidate for the upcoming general election, my sources have informed me of the definitive rejection of Ramjattan by the war room of the PNC for that position.
Then Joe Harmon got most Guyanese thinking that Ramjattan’s cause was lost when at a Bartica rally, he declared that Nagamootoo was royalty. At the same meeting, Nagamootoo took to the stage dressed in the PNC colours not the AFC’s which has its own sartorial ensigns.
The feedback I have been given was since that Bartica rally is that the PNC prefers to go with Nagamootoo. Well it looks like the PNC has conceded to Ramjattan. On Monday morning speaking to reporters on the subject of the PM candidacy, he said; “Yes, I strongly believe it will happen.”
Ramjattan went on to say that he has no doubts that he will be made the PM candidate.
If Ramjattan said that without any knowledge whatsoever that the PNC has changed his mind then he is in self-destruction mode. A high profile leader in Government cannot at the commonsensical level speak so reassuringly of an offer that he will receive without having any knowledge at all that he is likely to have it.
The damage to his credibility will be permanent if he is rejected. My interpretation is that based on how Ramjattan spoke to the reporters, he has been accepted by the PNC as Granger’s running mate. We need now to answer some relevant questions.
First, why did the PNC relent? It may have felt that the coalition has lost considerable ground since 2015 and if the AFC caused a disruption over its repudiation of Ramjattan then it is too huge a gamble to take. Secondly, did the PNC arrive at that decision after lengthy analysis?
If I was asked if the AFC can disrupt the showing of the coalition in the March 2020 election, I would not hesitate to say no.
Thirdly, and make no mistake about this; Ramjattan and the AFC had to make substantial concessions in exchange for the PM’s slot. Two are non-negotiable. In the event of the PNC president not being able to continue, he must be succeeded by another PNC leader.
The other is the acknowledgement by the AFC that there will be a significant diminution in seats in parliament and the ministerial sphere. In parliament the number will be much less than 12 and in much less than seven ministers.
My feeling is that the PNC resents the pressure the AFC brought to bear and will have the last laugh if the coalition wins in March. The Cummingsburg Accord was an asinine journey the AFC made and two of the three drivers were political pretenders with no experience.
Dominic Gaskin and David Paterson in 2015 had no practical or theoretical exposure to Guyanese political sociology. They knew absolutely nothing about the history of Guyanese politics and its countless nuances. Only Rajendra Bissesar had an enduring presence in politics but he was not in the core leadership of the AFC so Gaskin and Patterson were the chief negotiators.
So they signed a document that left the crucial ministry in the Cabinet entirely in the hands of the PNC – Finance. Then after power was acquired, there was born a de facto president – The minister of the presidency. The AFC felt angry at this shape of power, held a retreat at the Arthur Chung Centre and asked for a reduction of Harmon’s formidable jurisdictions.
The PNC ignored them and the AFC lost further because its iconic Chairman, Nigel Hughes, resigned hours after the retreat.
The same two men are negotiating a continuation of the Accord joined this time by a diaspora gentleman who prior to 2018 lived forty years out of Guyana – Dr. Vince Adams.
Should the APNU+AFC win in March, Ramjattan’s dream will be shattered. There will be a de jure PNC president and a de factor PNC president. The Prime Minister will not have the practical power Ramjattan thinks he will acquire.
Then there is going to be the coup de grâce. Should the APNU+AFC win again, a special office of authority will be created for Moses Nagamootoo that will not overlap with the Prime Minister’s portfolio but will actually supersede it. This design is engineered to elevate the authority of Nagamootoo over the role of the Prime Minister.
But could Ramjattan have the last laugh after all? What could anyone do to remove him as president in the event of Granger not being able to continue?

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Has Ramjattan finally defeated Nagamootoo?

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