Dear Editor,
If information provided in the article published in the Guyana Review on September 30 under the caption ‘Donald Ramotar – last man standing’ is true, then that article itself provides ample reason why Mr Ramotar should not be the PPP’s presidential candidate in the 2011 election. In an environment that demands change Mr Ramotar is portrayed as a status quo candidate. As I and others have argued, the status quo represents a dramatic departure from the raison d’etre of the PPP, and more of the same is a recipe for disaster. Moreover, as the selection process to be employed becomes clearer, so do the options for the ruling party.
The four contenders mentioned in the September 30 article – Moses Nagamootoo, Ralph Ramkarran, Donald Ramotar and Clement Rohee – are all long-serving members of the PPP and all have strengths associated with serving the party while it languished in opposition for 28 long years. Mr Ramotar with his solid grounding in Marxist theory should be expected to be a voice for the working people of Guyana but as demonstrated by current Guyanese reality and bolstered by claims in the aforementioned article, moving from theory to praxis is difficult. Clement Rohee too is a PPP stalwart and a very competent Home Affairs minister but he is also a realist, and even though “goat na bite he” he must know that his shot at the top position is very slim. This brings us to Moses Nagamootoo who used his considerable journalistic talent to expose the PNC in the 1980s. He has since qualified as a lawyer and is regarded as a good public speaker. However, for a number of reasons, his chance of getting the nod of his comrades is not much better than Rohee’s. This leaves one man standing on his own two feet, and that is Ralph Ramkarran. Ralph Ramkarran has all the qualities and qualifications necessary to be President of Guyana in the prevailing circumstances. He is a well respected senior counsel with a superior knowledge of the both parliamentary and civil procedures as well as the judicial process. As speaker of the National Assembly he has shown that he could rise above political considerations when justice is at stake. Further, like his father, Boysie Ramkarran, he has been a loyal member of the PPP even as other professionals were lured away during Burnham’s tyrannical rule. Most of all, Ramkarran could be trusted to bring changes not only to the PPP but to the government. With him at the helm the Guyanese people would be assured of respectful and respectable management in the interests of all Guyanese.
In conclusion it should be acknowledged that many of those charged with making the decision on the PPP’s presidential candidate and/or members of their family are employed by the state and, understandably, may be fearful of jeopardising their positions by openly voting for change. However, this is short-term thinking, for without meaningful change the future of the PPP itself would be jeopardised. It is precisely for this reason that the selection of the PPP presidential candidate should not only be free and fair but also free from fear. Anyone engaging in or benefiting from tactics contrary to this prescription would be as guilty as those who fraudulently kept the PPP out of power for 28 long and painful years.
Yours faithfully,
Jang B Singh