Extolling former president Cheddi Jagan as a good friend and mentor, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves yesterday made it clear that his presence in Guyana at this time should not be seen as an endorsement of the PPP/C.
Gonsalves, who was the guest speaker last evening at the annual Cheddi Jagan Lecturer Series, said, “From the outset, I want to issue a disclaimer. I am not here to support any political party in the impending general elections. Indeed, even if I was inclined to offer such support it would be entirely futile since I have no influence whatsoever on the electorate of Guyana.”
Before getting into the meat of his presentation, he told the several hundred people who were seated beneath a tent on the lawns of Red House on High Street that he has “good friends in the several political combinations contending for political office and I have no desire to embarrass or disappoint any of them.”
PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee, who introduced Gonsalves described him as a longstanding friend of Jagan and the PPP/C. He said too that the Vincentian PM has visited Guyana on a number of occasions and had been a guest of the PPP/C.
Rohee said too that Jagan’s name has been mentioned many times during the current election campaign, “for good reasons and bad reasons and it is not unusual because he was a father figure for this country and it is not unusual that some would try to toss his name around like a political football while others would seek to uphold and defend the principles for which he stood.”
The 68-year-old Gonsalves, who hopes to remain in office at least up to 2020 is now on a list of 15 distinguished speakers who have taken part in the lecture series over the years.
Yesterday’s lecture brought the curtains down on a month of activities to commemorate the life of Jagan and his wife Janet. Jagan died in March 1997 while his wife departed this life in March 2009. Both were former presidents of Guyana.
