Dear Editor,

When will the Guyanese electorate demand more from their elected leaders in government and the opposition?  November 9, 1989 saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall and with it, the end of the Cold War which in turn led to the collapse of communism in Eastern bloc countries.  Why then in the year 2010 would Speaker of the House Mr. Ralph Ramkarran in an interview conducted by Christopher Ram that’s making the rounds on You Tube, continue to embrace Marxist-Leninist ideology? Ramkarran has expressed an interest in succeeding Mr.Jagdeo as president when his term ends.  Russia the cradle of communism; for all intents and purposes has abandoned communism and has unabashedly pursued free market economic policies based on capitalism.

Ramkarran and others in the PPP who to this day continually espouse their admiration of Marxist-Leninist ideology are being intellectually dishonest with the Guyanese people when the reality of the state of the Guyanese economy, property ownership rights and a plethora of ills that the PPP has presided over is held up against their stated ideology.  Sadly, it is this kind of fossilized thinking that has earned Guyana the dubious distinction of being the perennial underachiever of Caricom.

As if the Marxist/Leninist Ramkarran in 2010 wasn’t mind boggling enough, Minister of Home Affairs Rohee expressed his interest in the presidency as well by proudly stating “goat ent bite me” as his qualification for the highest office of the land.  This is the same minister who has (mis)managed without any accountability the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and their torture of innocent civilians, involvement in endemic corruption, rampant criminality amongst its ranks and failure to arrest and successfully prosecute the drug barons who operate their cocaine transshipment enterprise with impunity.

It occurs to me that both the PPP and PNC who both subscribe/d to communist ideology are equally responsible for the pox that has afflicted this nation since its independence from the British.  Barticians recently gave the nation a glimmer of hope by standing up to the Jagdeo/PPP government and the next Guyanese leader will do well to learn from them.

A leader who will protect the territorial integrity of Guyana and promise to put country above race or archaic ideology, merit over favouritism and pursue respect for equality under the law will win if he or she can honestly and tirelessly communicate that to the electorate.  If such a person exists in the AFC they should travel the length and breadth of Guyana to get that message across without wasting another day.

Yours faithfully,
Nigel Jason