Where is the talent in the PPP?

Nov 16, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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…Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News- The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and its exuberant General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, are often vocal about the supposed abundance of young, talented individuals filling their ranks. To hear Mr. Jagdeo tell it, the opposition party is merely a museum exhibit, a collection of “fossils,” while his own PPP is a forward-looking, dynamic institution with no shortage of talent.

Yet, every week, the General Secretary President sits alone at the head table of the government’s press conferences. This is not the confident tableau of a party brimming with capable minds; it’s an image of singular power that belies the rhetoric.

If the PPP is indeed flush with talent, one must wonder why Jagdeo monopolizes the role of spokesperson. One might expect a party with such an abundance of riches to rotate its speakers, allowing a variety of voices and perspectives to emerge.

After all, surely in this talented lineup, someone other than Mr. Jagdeo could address the press, answer difficult questions, or represent the government’s views. Yet each week, the same solitary figure presides, leaving one to question where, exactly, this talent resides. Is it cloistered behind the scenes, too timid or restrained to come forward, or is it merely an illusion?

This performance is not only confined to weekly press conferences. At meetings hosted in his capacity of Vice President of Guyana, the scene is usually that of a single man seated at one side of the table—often across from teams of other persons.

It is a curious sight: a Vice President might reasonably be expected to appear alongside a cohort of advisors, specialists, or cabinet colleagues. Yet often, the Vice President sits alone. This go-it-alone style does not imply a wealth of talent ready to take the reins; it suggests that decision-making has shrunk down to the whims and preferences of one man. Far from projecting the PPP as a party with depth, this isolation sends a strong message that there is no one else deemed worthy of the role.

It’s not simply an issue of optics, though these images raise questions. Beneath the surface lies a more troubling possibility: that the centralization of power has effectively sidelined any brilliant or talented individuals who might have aspired to leadership roles. Decision-making is not distributed across a team or even among a few qualified individuals; it’s funneled through a narrow, perhaps impenetrable, gate.

For all the grand proclamations of the PPP of “internal democracy,” the party does not appear to be run by a democratic process of debate and deliberation; it appears to be run by edict. Ask Ralph Ramkarran or Moses Nagamootoo whether they believe the present PPP practices internal democracy.

In a modern office or any competitive organization, the free flow of ideas is not only encouraged; it’s essential. Can we truly say this exists within the PPP? The PPP as evidenced by these solo performances appears not to resemble a modern, democratic institution but rather a different structure where one voice eclipses all others.

Even more curious is the fact that Mr. Jagdeo, for all his experience, is neither a visionary nor a charismatic figure. His talent lies more in his omnipresence and insertion into too many matters than in inspired leadership. His insistence on monopolizing the spotlight thus begs the question: does he fear the emergence of someone more competent? Or has the party apparatus simply been conditioned to depend solely on him, thereby stifling any signs of genuine talent?

An organization that regularly trumpets its abundance of talent but showcases none of it does little to convince anyone. For all its criticisms of the Opposition’s supposed lack of vibrancy, the PPP has modeled its leadership in a way that allows no fresh perspectives or alternative ideas to emerge within his own ranks.

The Vice President’s well-publicized solo act points to a more profound flaw in the PPP internal structure: one that suggests a deep-seated lack of faith in its members. Either that or the party’s “abundance” of talent is simply a myth.

In truth, no country, let alone a political party, can or should operate under such conditions. This is a model that allows one man to dictate the terms and control the narrative. It is a system bound to repel ambitious, talented individuals rather than attract them, a system that risks stagnation rather than evolution. For all his criticisms of the opposition, Jagdeo’s PPP seems increasingly to resemble what he derides—a stagnant organization bereft of diversity and dynamism.

So where is the talent? Where are the young minds, the bright lights that are supposed to propel the PPP forward? If they are there, why are they being hidden away? As long as Jagdeo occupies the stage alone, it’s unlikely that the public will ever see this supposed new generation. And until the PPP embraces a genuinely democratic, collaborative process, one suspects that its “talent” will remain more myth than reality.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) 

   (Where is the talent in the PPP?)                    

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• General Secretary, museum exhibit, People's Progressive Party, Vice President of Guyana

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