Dear Editor,
In reference to your news article, ‘It’s Ramjattan and Holder,’ (November 1), I want to join Guyanese at home and abroad in congratulating the Alliance For Change (AFC) for finally settling on its presidential and prime ministerial candidates for the 2011 election, if ever it is held as scheduled.
I said finally, because in the run-up to last Sunday’s special convention, there had been much conjecture about whether there would be a Team Ramjattan-Trotman in keeping with the leadership rotation principle agreed to by the two men in 2005.
In the end, I was as surprised as the delegates at the convention that Mr Raphael Trotman decided to remove himself from the ticket due to health reasons, because up until this announcement, there was never a hint of any illness.
I know that in politics, the timing of such an announcement can be seen as a way to get out of the spotlight for either personal or political reasons and, as a result, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an avalanche of reasons from observers. Still, because health has been cited as the reason, I think our primary focus should be prayers for Mr Trotman’s speedy recovery.
Before delving deeper into the nominated candidates, I want to make special mention of the way in which the AFC facilitated efforts by executive member, Mr Michael Carrington, to compete with front-runner Mr Khemraj Ramjattan. Way to go, AFC!
Now, on the nomination of the candidates, I want to first caution the aspirants and the party against any assumptions that the people of Guyana will automatically rally around the party’s surprise announcement of the Ramjattan-Holder ticket.
Second, while the two candidates must be adept at fielding impromptu questions, I want to encourage the party to have one spokesperson, and that there be seldom then frequent press conferences or press releases leading up to Election Day to apprise the public on the campaign efforts and keep the messages alive.
Third, the party has to develop a core set of talking points from which to spin off a series of smaller talking points that will not only resonate with the people, but become part of their thinking and vocabulary. This way the party will be on the offensive while defining itself, rather than being on the defensive while being inaccurately defined by others.
Of immense significance is the fact that Ms Holder’s nomination as the prime ministerial candidate does not only answer questions about whether the AFC supports gender parity at the level of leadership in a national government, but it also provides Ms Holder with the opportunity to become President Holder if the AFC pulls off a win in 2011.
After all, I did not read that Ms Holder’s nomination came with a caveat that voids the rotation principle reached between Messrs Trotman and Ramjattan in 2005. In fact, when that 2005 agreement was reached, Ms Holder was right there lending her loyal support, and maybe it was because of her humility in being a servant-leader that she is now being rewarded.
Anyone who questions Team Ramjattan-Holder should use the state of the country under past leaders in deriving an answer, because Guyana is at the bottom of the barrel and the only way left to go is up.
After Forbes Burnham’s failed socialist experiment, Desmond Hoyte’s short-lived Economic Recovery Programme, Cheddi Jagan’s failure to re-launch in 1992, Janet Jagan’s holding-down-the-fort two-year stint, and the corruption under the present government, why is it not time to give another political party a chance?
I am as open to the AFC today as I was to Cheddi Jagan and the PPP in 1992 and Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP in 2001. I did not put either Jagans or Mr Jagdeo on a pedestal, but simply looked at the mess they inherited and said the least they deserve is a chance to do better.
Unfortunately, they both flattered to deceive, because Jagan died without leaving behind an economic plan or a succession plan and, as a result, we now have a President from Jagan’s political stable who seems to be governing with a self-serving agenda on his mind.
We need a change of government, a change in the way government is run, a change of constitution, and a change in the way Guyanese now live. But change can only come when the people exercise their franchise and vote for substantive instead of symbolic change.
Between now and 2011, however, the road to change must be travelled, and I hope and pray the AFC can develop the kind of message that can attract the kind of following that would result in the kind of change we have been looking for since 1966.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
