Dear Editor,
President Bharrat Jagdeo and PPP/C Presidential candidate Mr. Donald Ramotar addressed a packed gathering that turned out to welcome the duo at Club Tobago Friday evening. The meeting was called to introduce Ramotar as the ruling party’s Presidential candidate for the upcoming 2011 general elections due by November and organized by a number of supporters of the PPP and its affiliate groups in the US.
After the playing of Guyana’s national anthem, introductions, and garlanding of the visitors in traditional Guyanese style, the duo waded into the failures of the PNC opposition from 1965 thru 1992 and cited the achievements of the PPP government since it came into power in October 1992. These included increased disposable income, provision of housing, scholarships in medicine, improvements to infrastructure, growth of towns and villages, and the expansion of the banking sector even in areas like Diamond and Parika.
Both speakers said how pleased they were to be among Guyanese in New York and expressed their gratitude for the support given to the PPP since the darkest days of being in the opposition since the 1970s. Their speeches were punctuated with applause as they brought laughter responding to hecklers and citing facts.
Mr. Ramotar reminded the audience that the late PPP leader Dr. Cheddi Jagan found support in the diaspora for the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Guyana. “Your confidence in the PPP has not been misplaced” for Guyana is now a functioning democracy with a rising standard of living after 28 years of dictatorship and being at the bottom of the economic tables.
Ramotar accused the opposition PNC of not wanting to discuss their past because they know what they did to the country. But he said the campaign will discuss the past and where the country is going.
Ramotar quoted from the McIntyre Report from the Caribbean Conference of Churches which described Guyana as the poorest country in the hemisphere in 1991. He said: “Under the PNC, the country was totally run down and bankrupt. We could not borrow. The PNC had run up the highest per capita debt in the world and had nothing to show for the debt. Physical infrastructure was run down. Social welfare was in chaos. Housing was in acute shortage. The economy was going backward. Freedom of the press had disappeared. The PNC sent thugs to break up opposition meetings. There was a shortage of everything and businesses could not function. Elections were rigged and people could not choose their government”.
Ramotar claims that since the PPP returned to office, the country has turned around for the better. He said today Guyanese enjoyed untrammeled press freedom. “People don’t have to fight to criticize the government. They use the freedom we fought for during the dictatorship to now criticize us. TV stations proliferate and even in the interior people have access to TV coverage. We have turned around education and health building schools and hospitals. Our government recognizes that economic development depends on developing our people and so we invest heavily in education, health, housing, infrastructure and welfare. We have removed means test for old age pension. We have given out 80,000 house lots and housing has been booming all over the country in some 137 housing schemes. The minimum wage has risen to $40K today from $3137 under the PNC. Ramotar said the upcoming election is not a choice between the parties but between progress and retrogression.
Contrasting PPP rule to the PNC’s, Ramotar said “Now we use the state to enrich people and advance the country’s welfare. We are going forward, not backward”.
Ramotar also took a swipe at the AFC describing it as a “cog in the wheel of the PNC”. He said the AFC, which at times was described as KFC, the fried chicken outlet, wants to pursue “cockeye policies and politics”, a shot at Presidential candidate Khemraj Ramjattan, that Ramotar said “won’t work in Guyana”.
Ramotar said PPP’s rule has led to economic growth and linked the PPP to everything that has to do with national pride in the country including UG. “History has shown a link between progress and PPP rule”.
Ramotar credited the progress the country has made since 1992 to Bharrat Jagdeo in his role as Finance Minister and as President to which there was a burst of applause.
Ramotar said President Jagdeo has introduced the country to the cutting edge of the world – providing Guyana with access to technology including free computers for 90,000 families. He said Guyana will soon see drilling for oil and that hydropower construction will commence soon. He also said the government has been distributing solar panels in the interior to encourage use of renewable energy and a deep water harbour will lead to increased volume of trade.
Jagdeo said he has been guided by the Philosophy of the late President Jagan. He make scathing criticisms against Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. He endorsed Ramotar saying he will campaign for his successor. “He will make a good President. He comes out of the PPP. He worked closely with Dr. Jagan. He is not bigoted. He believes in the philosophy we talked about. He is humble and a peoples person. He is a serious economist. He has the requisite skills to run the country. He has my full support. This election is all our business. We are in this together. He deserves yours and our support”.
President Jagdeo asked the audience for assistance to find a wanted criminal by the name of `Tookie’ who he said is hiding in the US and who was involved in a series of heinous crimes in Guyana. He said the US has provided assistance but can’t find Tookie who made phone calls to Fine Man and opposition elements in Guyana. He said criminal activities in Guyana have been financed by `Tookie’ and others from abroad.
In a final ringing endorsement of Ramotar as his successor, Jagdeo said he is confident of a “bigger victory next elections”.
Across the street from Club Tobago, a small group of protesters from the opposition PNC and AFC joined in demonstrating against the President and Ramotar chanting anti-government slogans and hoisting pickets accusing the government of various nefarious activities. Eyewitnesses said one person was arrested and led away in handcuffs but attendees at the meeting said “the arrest was totally unjustified”.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
