Mr. Ramotar is a proven failure before he leaves the starting blocks
October 16, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under Letters
Dear Editor,
Hopefully, the November 28 elections will bring an end to the scorching and scathing criticisms of the Caribbean’s most corrupt, vindictive, autocratic and lawless regime. In fact, I am looking forward to ending my two decades-long letter writing hobby, as I have already started scaling back on the frequency of my letters.
That said, I want to respond to the lead story in Kaieteur News on Monday, October 10, “Ramotar pledges to work with opposition if elected.” Mr. Ramotar reportedly said of the opposition, “As President of Guyana, I will take their views into consideration; I will seek consensus and try as far as possible to reach agreement with them. If we don’t meet agreement and consensus, they must recognize the people’s choice and (in) the final analysis, we will take our decision to move our country forward. We will need the help of every one of you; we will even work with the small set of people who might still be misguided to support the opposition.”
If we are to take him seriously, Editor, then we must judge his track record as the de facto leader of the PPP to determine what, if anything, he accomplished while working with the opposition. If he did not work with the opposition while being the de facto PPP leader, then we should rightfully doubt his vacuous pledge to do so if he becomes President!
Meanwhile, I still can’t get past the fact that he, as the de facto leader of the PPP, allowed the current President to openly render the PPP ineffective and become tainted by this exceedingly corrupt government. Does Mr. Ramotar know or even care that there is great apathy among the ranks of the PPP support base, the trucking and busing of thousands of ‘hired’ supporters to election rallies, notwithstanding?
I also still can’t get past the fact that he’d want to preside over a government where leadership skills are essential, yet he sat on the GuySuCo management board as the main representative of the ruling party, while the Jagdeo regime’s mismanagement of the corporations cost taxpayers and the treasury billions of dollars. If you can’t oversee a road side roti and cane juice stall, how can you expect to run a big department store?
Mr. Ramotar’s track record at the helm of the PPP and on the board of GuySuCo does not bode well for him as an effective hands-on President or as a trusted pledge keeper. But is it possible that Mr. Ramotar, who seems to be more of an entitlement seeker than a game changer, is playing to a compliant audience by making rhetorical pledges he won’t keep?
With your kind permission, I want to share extracted portions of President Jagdeo’s remarks, on being sworn in as President on March 31, 2001, which should make us reflect on Mr. Ramotar’s remarks to the opposition. The President had publicly pledged to work with the political opposition in the aftermath of the infamous ‘slow fire-more fire’ violence and destruction that preceded the 2001 elections.
“…Elections 2001 is past. I want to assure my political opponents in those elections that we are not enemies. As President, I will strive my utmost to include everyone in the process of working to achieve common goals for the whole nation, and for making life for all Guyanese.
“…For too long – over generations, in fact – the bitter perception has developed that party connection and consideration come first in all aspects of administering this country. I will try hard, I promise you, to win the confidence of my opponents that this will not be so in my governance of Guyana. No doubt, winning trust in this regard will be gradual. But I declare today that I am determined to try to win that trust.
“…I can assure Guyana that the hand I reach out will be friendly and brotherly, and that in accepting it, the PNC Leadership need have no fear that they are doing so as anything other than as equal. I will shortly convene a “National conference” to discuss ways of taking Guyana forward in this country and millennium. This platform will be constructed within the context of the National Development Strategy and the programmes advanced by the various political parties. My vision is to create a country in which everyone has a sense of belonging and an opportunity to continue to its development.
“…I want to speed up the process of constitutional Reform and expand the role of the legislative arm of the government in the task of governance. However, inclusivity must not be restricted to the legislative arm of government. I hope that when I meet with the leader of the opposition we will discuss the matter further.
“…It is critical that we engage one another in dialogue. We should always reach out and talk to each other. In this way we would be really fulfilling the mandate of all Guyanese as we share our different views in the search for national consensus on the common objective of making this country a better place for all. Together we can work on issues and programmes that really matter to our people. There is so much we can achieve through genuine partnership.”
Editor, as we judge for ourselves we can see the disturbing difference between his flowery rhetoric of 2001 and the frightening reality of the ensuing 10 years. What’s even more frightening is that not only did Mr. Ramotar, who has never been accused of corruption, sit silently as the President went on a rampage breaking his promises and worse, but Mr. Ramotar literally validated the Jagdeo presidency.
Voters have to block this failed political dynamic of the PPP that allows its leaders to sit silently while its government engages in corrupt, vindictive, autocratic and lawless behaviours, simply because those leaders are on a political entitlement list waiting their turn to become president and don’t want to rock the boat or disturb the status quo. It’s time for Guyanese to take back their government from failed politics and failed politicians. Mr. Ramotar is a proven failure before he leaves the starting blocks!
Emile Mervin
October 16, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under Letters
Dear Editor,
Hopefully, the November 28 elections will bring an end to the scorching and scathing criticisms of the Caribbean’s most corrupt, vindictive, autocratic and lawless regime. In fact, I am looking forward to ending my two decades-long letter writing hobby, as I have already started scaling back on the frequency of my letters.
That said, I want to respond to the lead story in Kaieteur News on Monday, October 10, “Ramotar pledges to work with opposition if elected.” Mr. Ramotar reportedly said of the opposition, “As President of Guyana, I will take their views into consideration; I will seek consensus and try as far as possible to reach agreement with them. If we don’t meet agreement and consensus, they must recognize the people’s choice and (in) the final analysis, we will take our decision to move our country forward. We will need the help of every one of you; we will even work with the small set of people who might still be misguided to support the opposition.”
If we are to take him seriously, Editor, then we must judge his track record as the de facto leader of the PPP to determine what, if anything, he accomplished while working with the opposition. If he did not work with the opposition while being the de facto PPP leader, then we should rightfully doubt his vacuous pledge to do so if he becomes President!
Meanwhile, I still can’t get past the fact that he, as the de facto leader of the PPP, allowed the current President to openly render the PPP ineffective and become tainted by this exceedingly corrupt government. Does Mr. Ramotar know or even care that there is great apathy among the ranks of the PPP support base, the trucking and busing of thousands of ‘hired’ supporters to election rallies, notwithstanding?
I also still can’t get past the fact that he’d want to preside over a government where leadership skills are essential, yet he sat on the GuySuCo management board as the main representative of the ruling party, while the Jagdeo regime’s mismanagement of the corporations cost taxpayers and the treasury billions of dollars. If you can’t oversee a road side roti and cane juice stall, how can you expect to run a big department store?
Mr. Ramotar’s track record at the helm of the PPP and on the board of GuySuCo does not bode well for him as an effective hands-on President or as a trusted pledge keeper. But is it possible that Mr. Ramotar, who seems to be more of an entitlement seeker than a game changer, is playing to a compliant audience by making rhetorical pledges he won’t keep?
With your kind permission, I want to share extracted portions of President Jagdeo’s remarks, on being sworn in as President on March 31, 2001, which should make us reflect on Mr. Ramotar’s remarks to the opposition. The President had publicly pledged to work with the political opposition in the aftermath of the infamous ‘slow fire-more fire’ violence and destruction that preceded the 2001 elections.
“…Elections 2001 is past. I want to assure my political opponents in those elections that we are not enemies. As President, I will strive my utmost to include everyone in the process of working to achieve common goals for the whole nation, and for making life for all Guyanese.
“…For too long – over generations, in fact – the bitter perception has developed that party connection and consideration come first in all aspects of administering this country. I will try hard, I promise you, to win the confidence of my opponents that this will not be so in my governance of Guyana. No doubt, winning trust in this regard will be gradual. But I declare today that I am determined to try to win that trust.
“…I can assure Guyana that the hand I reach out will be friendly and brotherly, and that in accepting it, the PNC Leadership need have no fear that they are doing so as anything other than as equal. I will shortly convene a “National conference” to discuss ways of taking Guyana forward in this country and millennium. This platform will be constructed within the context of the National Development Strategy and the programmes advanced by the various political parties. My vision is to create a country in which everyone has a sense of belonging and an opportunity to continue to its development.
“…I want to speed up the process of constitutional Reform and expand the role of the legislative arm of the government in the task of governance. However, inclusivity must not be restricted to the legislative arm of government. I hope that when I meet with the leader of the opposition we will discuss the matter further.
“…It is critical that we engage one another in dialogue. We should always reach out and talk to each other. In this way we would be really fulfilling the mandate of all Guyanese as we share our different views in the search for national consensus on the common objective of making this country a better place for all. Together we can work on issues and programmes that really matter to our people. There is so much we can achieve through genuine partnership.”
Editor, as we judge for ourselves we can see the disturbing difference between his flowery rhetoric of 2001 and the frightening reality of the ensuing 10 years. What’s even more frightening is that not only did Mr. Ramotar, who has never been accused of corruption, sit silently as the President went on a rampage breaking his promises and worse, but Mr. Ramotar literally validated the Jagdeo presidency.
Voters have to block this failed political dynamic of the PPP that allows its leaders to sit silently while its government engages in corrupt, vindictive, autocratic and lawless behaviours, simply because those leaders are on a political entitlement list waiting their turn to become president and don’t want to rock the boat or disturb the status quo. It’s time for Guyanese to take back their government from failed politics and failed politicians. Mr. Ramotar is a proven failure before he leaves the starting blocks!
Emile Mervin
