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President Ramotar’s recent pronouncements is a serious indictment of his leadership

June 15, 2012 | By | Filed Under Letters 

 

Dear Editor,
Every Guyanese must be alarmed at two recent pronouncements by President Donald Ramotar; the first of these is Ramotar’s announcement that he has asked his predecessor, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, for help in managing things at Office of the President.


When I read this news item my gut reaction was; oh only in Guyana! Where else could a person who have just been elected president of a country mere six month ago seems to openly confesses his inability to lead the people who just voted for him, and still expects the people  to have confidence in his leadership. Why should he stay in office if he needs propping up?


Every voter must be concerned with this ‘Ramotarism’, the Ramotar definition of how to govern a nation. We should be asking for how long is Mr. Jagdeo expected to serve as Ramotar’s chief helper, and whether the role of this immediate president as ‘helper in chief’ is not sufficient to conclude that Ramotar’s government, will in fact be Jagdeo’s government?


Further, wouldn’t it also be fair to conclude that this announcement by Ramotar amounts to a big smack in the face of the people who could not wait for Jagdeo’s departure? This entire situation is a cause for much concern and demands a complete examination to determine whether Guyanese voted for ‘pig in the bag’; did the PPP/C deceived the people into voting for Ramotar, as a front, to make Jagdeo the de facto president?


This revelation is very disturbing to say the least. Mere weeks into Ramotar’s presidency Jagdeo attended an official internal summit on behalf of Ramotar. When questions were asked Ramotar intimated that Jagdeo was attending in his personal capacity but also to represent Guyana.

Today, we are told by President Ramotar that Mr. Jagdeo is operating at Office of the President because he asked him to be there and because he wants his help. The big question is; was Ramotar ready to lead Guyana on day one? Or was the decision for Ramotar to be the PPP/C presidential candidate an arrangement to hoodwink the people and make Jagdeo’s third term a reality?

Something smells fishy here; imagine President Obama announcing to the American people that he asked Bill Clinton to help him and for the former president to be at the White House to guide him daily. The American people will be calling for Obama’s immediate removal. I am not saying that help cannot be sought but for a president to announce that he has called out, so soon in his term, immediate past president to help on serious matters of policy this state of affairs calls into question the elected president’s ability to lead.

It also exhibits Ramotar’s lack of that kind of political finest most demanding of leaders amongst us.

The second issue I wish to raise and for which the people should be equally outraged is President Ramotar’s announcement that he will not assent to bills passed by the parliamentary opposition. This comment is unfortunate, exposes a deficit in the area of leadership and diplomacy and projects a confrontational and backward posture of the Ramotar/ Jagdeo administration.


It is situations like the ones which now obtains in the parliament that true leaders shine and demonstrates positive leadership. However, Ramotar’s comments indicates a man with an irrational temperament, who lacks focus, and appears to be oblivious to the fact that striking a conciliatory or compromising tone and projecting a more positive image is critical to the role of leaders in this unique situation, of a parliamentary opposition majority.


Further, Mr. Ramotar seems to have no concern for the effects of his decision or actions; he must know that his actions can result in a major political crisis, as his decision is likely to stall the legislative agenda of the people.


Clearly, but rather unfortunate, Ramotar has decided to lead in the direction of his party rather than the direction of the people, who make up the parliamentary majority.  So the big issue in this posture; is whether democracy has come to mean that the PPP/C’s interest is paramount to the interest people of Guyana.
I guess Jagdeo has advised Ramotar that this should be their collective approach, or is it a ‘bully tactic’ to respond to budget cuts! There is no doubt that Ramotar’s confirmation that former President Jagdeo is operating out of the office of the president at his behest, and because he wants his help, apparently in leading the nation, is a highly worrisome reality.


At worst the PPP/C should have been honest to Guyanese and tell them voting for Ramotar was in fact aiding a continuation of ‘Jagdeoism’, at least the party and Ramotar should have been honest with the Guyanese people, but now we know ‘mouth open story jump out’.


The people have heard from ‘the horses mouth’!


Lurlene Nestor

 
 


Replies sorted oldest to newest

I mentioned before the election that Ramotar was just a front man for Jagdeo and that the presidency was a big scam. Jagdeo is incapable of carrying out  a coup due to the lack of support from the military, otherwise he would. This corrupt regime is never going to give up power unless they are ligned up against the wall and shot.

Mr.T

Bai Mitwah, you and me are two of the very few who can see through the whole  thieving process. A lot of GNIers are heavily dependent on theft and drugs running that is an integral part of the PPP operation. When the head of the Guyanese drugs mafia has a diplomatic passport you know how bad things are. Worse still is that the PNC is funded by PPP crime, which leaves the AFC heavily exposed.

Mr.T

Believe you me, the people who voted PPP knew Ramoutar was/is incompetent and it would be an informal Jagdeo third term. Majority voters in Guyana will do anything to keep the PNC out of power - this is a reality. I said it many times on this site and I also stated electing Ramoutar was a Jagdeo third term. Folks, PPP is tiefing like the PNC was during their decades in power. AFC failed to get their act together to neutralize the PNC and PPP electoral dominance. When the AFC first challenged the PNC and PPP I said they will win a substantial number of seats but that they needed to immediatelty create a shadow govt with shadow ministers and , that they should commence campaign for the next election.

If , and I say if , I had the interest to return to Guyana and challenge the PPP , PNC ,AFC and all the other parties , at the first election none of the parties would get a majority to take office and would be forced into a coalition and by the second election I would be president by an overwhelming majority from both the PNC and PPP support bases.

Zero tolerance for corruption of any type and kind , and encouraging private sector growth and expansion with tax reforms alone would ensure me a majority support. My shadow govt and shadow ministers would emerge known and proven to voters as competent and ethical. I would change the mindset of all Guyanese.

Now that Ramoutar is elected president, Jagdeo is assured next election he can put a real live jacka55/donkey as Party presidential candidate and the party would still win ! I hope Ramoutar and Jagdeo squeeze and punish dem hignorant Guyanese who keep voting PPP and PNC . I wanna see dem get squeeze real hard.

FM
Originally Posted by martin Carter:

One man write a letter and you all write thinking its gospel. The PPP is going to govern and the President will use his powers to do so, who like it or not.   

You are not writing anything new that the rest of us haven't already said. But is it legal for the presidency to be held by two people under our constitution?

Mr.T

"When I read this news item my gut reaction was; oh only in Guyana! Where else could a person who have just been elected president of a country mere six month ago seems to openly confesses his inability to lead the people who just voted for him, and still expects the people  to have confidence in his leadership. Why should he stay in office if he needs propping up?"

 

 

\

BADAMM TARASSS!!

 

Exactly as many of us said on this board, Ramotar is a puppet and Jags is behind with his hand stuck up the bamsy.

After a while the hand gets tired of holding up Ramtar's weight he does drop it one one time and Ramtar does fall to the floor.

Po' Po' Ramotar, I feel sorry fo he.

 

Again we a watch dem as the cards fall.

cain
Originally Posted by martin Carter:

One man write a letter and you all write thinking its gospel. The PPP is going to govern and the President will use his powers to do so, who like it or not.   


HEHEHE Typical Naive, uneducated Guyanese. No wonder the Country so MESS up. A delusional Leurene and everyone treats his words like those of Abraham.

Nehru

UNCLE DONALD DOES NOT NEED BHARRAT

June 17, 2012 | By | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

 

President Donald Ramotar may have done irreparable harm to his public image by asking his predecessor, Bharrat Jagdeo, to assist him with preparing a report into the Budget cuts. The need for a report to be prepared about the Budget cuts was one of the explanations given for the former president’s presence at the Office of the President during a period when the incumbent was out of Guyana on official business. The other explanation is that the former president was there to prepare a report about some of the major projects. This is not necessarily a contradiction with the first explanation, since the report which was being prepared could have been about those major projects under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which was the focus of opposition blade in the 2012 Budgets. These cuts are now the subject of a court case and therefore not much can be said about their legality. It will be the court which will have to decide whether the constitution provides specific rules for the approval of Budget estimates and if those rules permit reduction or alterations. The government became concerned about the cuts not because of their severity, but because of the nature of the cuts. Many of the major projects under the LCDS were not approved on dubious technical grounds – that the monies were not yet in the province. And since some preparatory planning would be required as part of the execution of these projects, it would have been necessary from a technical point of view for reports to be prepared detailing the effects of the cuts and what adjustments were needed in the context of the cuts. But why should a former president have been mandated to do this? Why reduce a former sitting Head of State to the position of a technician? Was it beyond the technical staff within the various projects’ units? Why was an outsider, and a former president at that, brought in to prepare a report which should be within the competency of some of the technical staff working within these projects? After all, those staffers are not being paid peanuts. They are being paid market rates and therefore should at the minimum have been able to prepare a report analyzing the effects of the Budget cuts on these projects and what adjustments needed to be made. Is the government conceding that within these projects’ units there is a woeful lack of technical capacity? And if so, why are some persons being paid market rates of international consultants? There was no need for the former president to have been asked to assist in preparing any reports. In fact, the Ministry of Finance should have been able to produce the necessary reports, since they are normally required to do similar reports in relation to foreign-funded projects. The Donald Ramotar administration, therefore, has to be careful about involving the former president in official government work. He should restrict the role of the former president to an advisory capacity. Donald Ramotar needs to be his own man. He needs to avoid ruling in the shadow of his predecessor for a number of reasons. Firstly, he needs to make his own mark. When he leaves office, he must have his own legacy. He must not be accused of merely completing the policies of his predecessor. He already has his own distinctive style that sets him apart from his predecessor. It is time for him to establish his own track record of policies and achievements without these being credited to his predecessor. Secondly, he needs to be distinct from his predecessor, because the tenure of the former president was riddled with so much controversy, especially in relation to some major projects. He can continue with those projects that he feels are vital for national development, but should revamp them to make them more acceptable to the nation. Thirdly, we are in a new dispensation; the government is a minority government, therefore a new focus has to be brought to governance. The worst thing that the incumbent president can do is to rule in the shadow of his predecessor. Donald Ramotar does not need former President Jagdeo. It is not helpful to his image for him to be seen as having to ask his predecessor for assistance in preparing reports. It will only lend to a perception that the strings are being pulled from sources other than the presidency. This will do irreparable harm to the administration, and his entire presidency will be tainted with this adverse perception, even though it may not be true. If President Ramotar wants to utilize the services of Mr. Jagdeo, he should make him a goodwill ambassador to promote Guyana’s tourism. That should keep him busy while the president makes his own mark

Sheik101
Originally Posted by Sheik101:

UNCLE DONALD DOES NOT NEED BHARRAT

June 17, 2012 | By | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

 

President Donald Ramotar may have done irreparable harm to his public image by asking his predecessor, Bharrat Jagdeo, to assist him with preparing a report into the Budget cuts. The need for a report to be prepared about the Budget cuts was one of the explanations given for the former president’s presence at the Office of the President during a period when the incumbent was out of Guyana on official business. The other explanation is that the former president was there to prepare a report about some of the major projects. This is not necessarily a contradiction with the first explanation, since the report which was being prepared could have been about those major projects under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which was the focus of opposition blade in the 2012 Budgets. These cuts are now the subject of a court case and therefore not much can be said about their legality. It will be the court which will have to decide whether the constitution provides specific rules for the approval of Budget estimates and if those rules permit reduction or alterations. The government became concerned about the cuts not because of their severity, but because of the nature of the cuts. Many of the major projects under the LCDS were not approved on dubious technical grounds – that the monies were not yet in the province. And since some preparatory planning would be required as part of the execution of these projects, it would have been necessary from a technical point of view for reports to be prepared detailing the effects of the cuts and what adjustments were needed in the context of the cuts. But why should a former president have been mandated to do this? Why reduce a former sitting Head of State to the position of a technician? Was it beyond the technical staff within the various projects’ units? Why was an outsider, and a former president at that, brought in to prepare a report which should be within the competency of some of the technical staff working within these projects? After all, those staffers are not being paid peanuts. They are being paid market rates and therefore should at the minimum have been able to prepare a report analyzing the effects of the Budget cuts on these projects and what adjustments needed to be made. Is the government conceding that within these projects’ units there is a woeful lack of technical capacity? And if so, why are some persons being paid market rates of international consultants? There was no need for the former president to have been asked to assist in preparing any reports. In fact, the Ministry of Finance should have been able to produce the necessary reports, since they are normally required to do similar reports in relation to foreign-funded projects. The Donald Ramotar administration, therefore, has to be careful about involving the former president in official government work. He should restrict the role of the former president to an advisory capacity. Donald Ramotar needs to be his own man. He needs to avoid ruling in the shadow of his predecessor for a number of reasons. Firstly, he needs to make his own mark. When he leaves office, he must have his own legacy. He must not be accused of merely completing the policies of his predecessor. He already has his own distinctive style that sets him apart from his predecessor. It is time for him to establish his own track record of policies and achievements without these being credited to his predecessor. Secondly, he needs to be distinct from his predecessor, because the tenure of the former president was riddled with so much controversy, especially in relation to some major projects. He can continue with those projects that he feels are vital for national development, but should revamp them to make them more acceptable to the nation. Thirdly, we are in a new dispensation; the government is a minority government, therefore a new focus has to be brought to governance. The worst thing that the incumbent president can do is to rule in the shadow of his predecessor. Donald Ramotar does not need former President Jagdeo. It is not helpful to his image for him to be seen as having to ask his predecessor for assistance in preparing reports. It will only lend to a perception that the strings are being pulled from sources other than the presidency. This will do irreparable harm to the administration, and his entire presidency will be tainted with this adverse perception, even though it may not be true. If President Ramotar wants to utilize the services of Mr. Jagdeo, he should make him a goodwill ambassador to promote Guyana’s tourism. That should keep him busy while the president makes his own mark

Yuh Post laaang, laaang CRAP fuh what?/ What is your point?? Clinton is called upon Obama for advice, and to deal with Economic matters all the time. Nah start meh Father's Day pun deh wrong side now.

Nehru

Just read the article, my friend. And if you wish to respond to it, do so in an intelligent way. Just don't going charging dowm the road like a nut.
Remember, you're in the capable hands of god. I'm sure you don't want a divine cut rass on this Father's day.
Word to the wise.

Sheik101
Originally Posted by Sheik101:

Just read the article, my friend. And if you wish to respond to it, do so in an intelligent way. Just don't going charging down the road like a nut.
Remember, you're in the capable hands of god. I'm sure you don't want a divine cut rass on this Father's day.
Word to the wise.

Ramotar wants to make his own mark but the tentacles of Jagdeo reach deep into Govt.  Jagdeo is a corrupt and divisive personality with an sulphurous personality.  Ramotar will need internal support to exorcise the PPP of the Jagdeo political clan.

FM
Originally Posted by Sheik101:

Just read the article, my friend. And if you wish to respond to it, do so in an intelligent way. Just don't going charging dowm the road like a nut.
Remember, you're in the capable hands of god. I'm sure you don't want a divine cut rass on this Father's day.
Word to the wise.

hehehe sO WHO YUH GUN SEND TO CUT MY rASS, pj OR dEVO?? cAUSE YOU WILL CERTAINLY GET A GOOD CUT rASS INSTEAD.

Nehru
Originally Posted by martin Carter:

What tension? Don't invent problems to sensationalize things. Ramotar is honest and he is doing his best to run the country with the AFC and APNU (and Jagdeo) at his back.

Martin, it is they way of democracy, opposition on your back.  They (PPP) should use it as an opportunity to improve their performance, no complain. If you don't like it, then switch to the model of Sadaam, Ghadafi, Assad, but you see what they got/getting.  I'm sure they wished they had a "baderation" parliamentary opposition.

FM
Last edited by Former Member

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