Dear Editor,
As the former Special Assistant to the late Desmond Hoyte, Leader of the PNCR, I would like to place on record my congratulations to the David Granger led administration for their success at the recent polls. The 2015 election result is what many Guyanese at home and abroad were patiently awaiting for several years, and the feeling I am sure was one of excitement to have finally achieved it.
However, I have noticed that the new administration has rightly gone to work in seeking to fulfil the many promises it pledged to the people of Guyana, but I am humbly suggesting that the following individuals should be given ambassadorial appointments as I firmly believe that they can and will make a meaningful contribution to repairing the image of our country.
Messrs Ronald Austin, Cammie Ramsaroop, Eric Phillips, Vincent Alexander and Stanley Ming should be given serious consideration to serve this country in various ambassadorial posts. While some persons may not be aware of the skills and abilities that these good gentlemen possess, I am forever grateful to have worked at a time with the late leader which allowed me to interact with them on numerous occasions, while serving in my capacity at Congress Place. As such, I was privy to the positive impression that they all had on the late Mr Hoyte and therefore firmly believe that President Granger should not miss the golden opportunity of utilising the services of these men who will certainly bring value, respect, and admiration to the Guyana that many of us dream of living in.
Regarding the many irresponsible utterances of the Venezuela President, I firmly believe that Mr Ronald Austin who himself had served Guyana as an ambassador before, can be appointed to serve in the capacity of Ambassador to Caracas. His skills and experience in diplomacy certainly make him the best suited to address the ongoing Venezuela controversy thus enhancing Minister Greenidge’s efforts which will certainly bear fruit. Meanwhile, it must be noted that Mr Cammie Ramsaroop was a senior minister to Minister Greenidge while he served as Finance Minister in the PNC days. Therefore, with Minister Greenidge now serving in a different capacity as Foreign Affairs Minister, President Granger should not waste any time in utilising the knowledge and skills of Mr Ramsaroop to serve Guyana in the United States. While I must commend Minister Roopnaraine in wasting no time in securing the services of Mr Vincent Alexander as an advisor within the Ministry of Education, he can better serve in an ambassadorial posting. I have expressed this view publicly and privately to Mr Alexander and while he continues to maintain and express his desire to remain in Guyana to serve the people at home as he doesn’t wish to live outside, I firmly remain of the view that he can better serve this country as an ambassador.
The evident depth of knowledge of both Stanley Ming and Eric Phillips should be immediately utilised as I vividly remember the many contributions they both made in the lead up to the 2001 elections in the ‘Guyana 21’ document. It was no secret that Mr Hoyte was very impressed with the contributions and performance of these gentlemen as the relationship that he had with them reinforced the view that he admired and respected them greatly. Mr Austin was frequently consulted on many occasions on a number of matters while Mr Ming and Mr Phillips’s advice was sought on numerous occasions on wide-ranging matters. Mr Ramsaroop, who has opted to play a very simple and quiet role, was sought out by the late leader on many occasions on a number of national issues. Mr Hoyte held the firm view that Mr Ramsaroop certainly had an important role to play in bridging the racial divide which unfortunately has resulted in the two main races being suspicious of each other. It is therefore not by accident that in the two previous elections Mr Ramsaroop’s advice on the make-up of both the PNCR and the APNU lists of MPs was eagerly sought after, thus resulting in him being credited with helping to identify some of the vibrant and vocal representatives that Guyana saw in the 9th and 10th Parliaments. I recall some months after I commenced working with Mr Hoyte in a discussion that he had with myself and the late Deryck Bernard who was another trusted confidant of Mr Hoyte, that the late founder leader Forbes Burnham was not impressed by those who just made noise and talked a lot, although he had sincere and deep respect for those who worked silently and got whatever responsibilities that were entrusted to them effectively done. He made this remark as he wanted to explain why he was fortunate to succeed Mr Burnham as President of Guyana.
This description of working silently while getting a lot done best describes Mr Alexander who to some has been somewhat behind the scenes although he still continues to contribute significantly to Guyana. It should therefore be no surprise that he be given an opportunity to serve this country as an ambassador.
While more can be said of these gentlemen who have represented Guyana and moreso the people who looked to them for leadership, I humbly would like to urge President Granger to not miss the opportunity of ensuring that they be appointed to serve at our various foreign embassies around the world, as while the rebuilding of Guyana has commenced internally there is an even more urgent need to repair it externally.
Yours faithfully,
Rawle Nelson
