Dear Editor,
Guyanese and other observers who are cautiously optimistic about Mr Ramotar’s presidency should disabuse themselves of the notion that there are substantive differences between Mr Ramotar and Mr Jagdeo. Mr Ramotar owes his presidency to Mr Jagdeo because he is former President Jagdeo’s handpicked successor. There maybe stylistic differences between this president and Mr Jagdeo because Mr Ramotar thus far seems to have an accommodating and civil style, versus the ‘cuss down‘ and combative manner in which Mr Jagdeo treated anyone he deemed an opponent.
One need not look any further than the composition of Mr Ramotar’s cabinet to get a sense of the continuation of the Jagdeo presidency and the mediocrity that became synonymous with the incompetence and excesses of the last twelve years of PPP rule. The majority of Mr Jagdeo’s cabinet is now Mr Ramotar’s cabinet. Ministers Irfan Ali and Robert Persaud are now part of the Ramotar administration. In the case of Mr Persaud who now holds the portfolio of Minister of the newly created Ministry of Natural Resources, his appointment stretches the limits of credulity because there is nothing in his academic achievement or body of work that inspires confidence in his ability to lead such an important sector. In particular, Mr Persaud will have oversight responsibility for managing the funds received from Norway as part of the previous president’s low carbon development strategy (LCDS) as well as gold and oil exploration.
Mr Ramotar, who hardly put forth a compelling argument why he should be elected president, relied on Mr Jagdeo and other surrogates who used objectionable Hindi language to denigrate their opponents. Candidate Ramotar never objected; in fact he was on the same stage when the AFC and APNU presidential candidates were denigrated.
Mr Ramotar doesn’t have a body of work as a deep thinker or as an ‘economist‘ the title the PPP bestowed on him for his presidential biography; in fact his less than stellar performance as a director on several state board agencies earned him a dubious promotion to presidential adviser in the months leading up to the presidential election. In fact, Mr Ramotar was given an unfair advantage as ‘president-in-training.’
Amazingly, after being in the country for only a week prior to the November 28 elections, the OAS and Commonwealth observers all concluded that the playing field was not level, giving the PPP an unfair advantage. If the playing field was not level then how and why would the outcome be credible or acceptable to the nation?
Going forward Guyanese would do well to demand of their new opposition parliamentary majority that the much-despised Burnham constitution be retired, and a constitutional convention convened to construct a constitution that is less than the 200 pages that currently obtains. I am certain that the majority of Guyanese and their children have not read this monstrosity. Interestingly, the very Burnham constitution that the PPP correctly scorned while in the opposition, they have now used to maximum advantage, even more so than the original authors to bludgeon a docile and largely apathetic nation into submission.
Federalism should be seriously considered so that if Guyana were to be divided into three administrative and geographical states – Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice – the governors of those states who seek higher office would have to be scrupulous, transparent and appeal to a national audience instead of narrow ethnic groups. Constitutional reform is the only way to save Guyana from its downward trajectory and frequent comparison to Haiti and other failed states.
Finally, if President Ramotar who has been unconscionably mute on the use of excessive force by his police department against peaceful protestors, wants to distinguish himself from his predecessor, he should have all the major contracts the previous regime entered into reviewed, including but not limited to Fip Motilall’s road-building project. Mr Motilall has failed to show the progress that’s he made. This is the kind of thing that is easily accessible from the local newspaper in a town 30 miles north of where Mr Motilall has a business in Palm Beach County, Fl. Click on the link to see time-lapse photos of a US government awarded contract to a reputable company to build a bridge by going to www.tcpalm.com and type Veteran’s Memorial Bridge to see how normal democracies operate.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Jason