Dear Editor,
According to your newspaper, Dr V Persaud, PPP parliamentarian, fired off an e-mail which was very revealing as to the obvious splits in the hierarchy of the PPP. Dr Persaud contradicts herself, however, on more than one occasion in this e-mail. The first contradiction is when she calls on Ashni Singh to be head of the opposition in Parliament. This is the same Ashni Singh who, by his secretive deals, landed the PPP in a whole perception of corruption; the same Ashni Singh who had to know about GuySuCo’s bankruptcy and Raj Singh’s abject failures as head of the corporation which Dr Persaud cries about as the reasons the PPP has been weakened; the same Ashni Singh whose wife was in a senior position in the Auditor General’s office which any independent observer would deem serious conflict of interest; the same Ashni Singh who had to know that taxpayers’ money financed the Marriot deal − a glaring example of disregard for the citizens of Guyana; the same Ashni Singh who oversaw the Fip Motilall fiasco, transfers of money, the speciality hospital and I can go on and on. Dr Singh is really an abject failure as a Minister, so how can he be successful as opposition leader? Dr Persaud needs to wake up and smell the coffee; putting her trust in Dr Singh is like trying to cross the Atlantic ocean in a riverine canoe.
Editor, the second contradiction of Dr Persaud is in her reference to the new government as “de facto” and “illegitimate” when she admits that “the party’s failure to present to the public concrete evidence or convincing information in support of its claim that there was significant rigging that could have changed the results” and “positive responses from the international community and rights groups have not been forthcoming” (concerning the PPP being cheated). Again, Dr Persaud needs to wake up and smell the coffee because the facts are that this government is well recognized all over the world, especially by all the great powers like the USA, UK, India and China, down to little Suriname, so ‘de facto’ and ‘illegitimate’ are words we expect from extreme radicals. I trust that Dr Persaud will be more prudent in the future. The simple truth is that the PPP lost the election fairly and squarely, and not accepting that fact is what will weaken the PPP and cast it adrift.
The third contradiction in Dr Persaud’s e-mail is the total absence of criticism of Mr Jagdeo in the PPP’s political demise at the polls, although she mentions indirectly Clement Rohee and his middle finger, Nandlall and the tape, Bheri and his gross behaviour, Mr Ramotar and his notorious pardoning of a child killer, Raj Singh and his misrepresentations about GuySuCo payouts, the money spent on PPP electioneering from the coffers of Water and Housing, as contributions to the election defeat. Yet in fact it is Jagdeo who is ultimately responsible for the PPP’s fall from power with his race-baiting, bad-mouthing and bullying attitude in that party; who is directly responsible for the loss of Moses and Ralph, two stalwarts whom no-one in the PPP, including Dr Persaud, defended as these two patriots were excommunicated. Is there a reason why the good doctor does not mention Jagdeo? That contradiction raises questions about her general intentions and mindset.
Editor, at least it is a good sign that Dr Persaud raises the issues and makes them public, and she should continue to speak up for the regular folks who voted for her party. However, she needs to go even further by calling for a special congress of the PPP within three months which would observe real democratic procedures to insure that the Gang of 8 do not use the communist dictatorial “democratic centralism” to keep themselves in position.
Yours faithfully,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr)