Dear Editor,
As a Guyanese who closely followed Guyana’s politics for over 40 years, I have to say without reservation that Guyana is ideally poised for truly great and visionary leadership. Especially now that large reservoirs of untapped oil under our coastal waters for decades will finally be pumped out and generate unknown sums of money for our national coffers.
There are innumerable sayings and quotes out there of what defines or describes great leadership, but the one that always stuck with me is about a great leader being remembered for raising up leaders. No matter how great the accomplishments of a leader, if the right successor is not identified to build on those accomplishments, then all the accomplishments will fade over time.
As Guyanese get ready for elections, whether in 2019 or 2020, I have dwindling confidence in David Granger and absolutely no confidence in Irfaan Ali when it comes to leading Guyana. For Granger, it has been more a depressing disappointment given the high expectations many had of him coming on the heels of Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar.
Although he escapes personal labels of being corrupt or doing things his immediate predecessors did, he still failed to provide the type of disciplined leadership many expected of him regarding some of his cabinet members. That apart, he appeared to be more ceremonial and hands-off in his approach to leadership. In some respects, he does mirror Donald Ramotar.
Ali, on the other hand, comes fully loaded with a barrel of negatives. Even PPP supporters expressed disappointment with his nomination. I won’t waste time and space regurgitating his negatives, but suffice to say that the mere fact that he was Jagdeo’s preferred choice over Dr. Frank Anthony or Dr. Vindhya Persaud, should be enough to tell us what kind of government to expect under Jagdeo-Ali.
And that brings me to the twin questions of what kind of leaders we really have in Guyana and what type of leaders are they raising up? Additionally, does the PPP or the Coalition even have a strong cadre of unknown or untapped leaders capable of taking Guyana to the next level, assuming we even know what the next level is after being down for so long?
We all saw what happened after Cheddi Jagan died and the convoluted musical chairs succession plan that eventually resulted in Jagdeo becoming President ahead of other more seasoned leaders in the PPP. That aside, Guyanese deserve to hear from party candidates on the issues before a final decision is made on the actual candidate, as opposed to parties simply holding a congress or selection process where a candidate is elected or selected and then foisted on the nation.
Over in the Coalition, which is a merger of APNU and the AFC, Granger emerged as the PNCR leader after a tumultuous party election allegedly fraught with rigging. God forbid, but should he be unable to continue as President for health reasons, who takes over? Is there even a leadership succession plan in place, and does that person really possess the type of leadership material we need going forward?
I did note the announcements of new parties being launched after the NCV was passed in December 2018, but the country has not benefited from the ongoing expression of views on the issues by leaders of these new parties. Merely saying parties will fight corruption and ensure constitutional reform alone cannot be reason for picking a President.
Guyana is also very politically divided along racial lines that it would take a leader capable of uniting the races behind one common vision to make Guyana function as one well-oiled, massive political and economic machine. I’m not naive to think anyone will automatically solve all our societal problems, but we have to start somewhere and that’s why we need that unique someone to provide the needed leadership.
I did mention sometime ago that I ran in to Christopher Ram at Giftland Mall and asked him why he won’t consider running for President, given he appears to have a firm grasp of what ails government and, in all likelihood, he may have some workable solutions. He smiled and said he preferred to fight for change using the current strategy of writing and being an activist.
I am not a big believer in personality politics, but Mr. Ram has made such an indelible impression on many with his brilliant analyses of the issues and his willingness to confront the government of the day, that even members of the PNCR, in 2010, invited him to be the PNCR presidential candidate. (‘Chris Ram declines offer to be nominated for PNCR Presidential candidate’, KN, December 8th, 2010).
He was not a PNCR member and was quite familiar with the PNCR’s history (see his writings on the PNCR at chrisram.net), but after consulting with his family members, he turned down the offer. The KN news report further stated, “Questioned whether he would be open to running for the presidency, Ram answered in the affirmative by saying he would do anything for his country.”
So, there we have him on record saying he would consider running for President, but even if he doesn’t run for President, I am sure a man of his calibre is capable of attracting men and women of his patriotic and professional persuasion to form a group out of which can emerge the kind of great and visionary leadership Guyana desperately needs. If the Coalition and the PPP have failed, then we have to look elsewhere among us.
Instead of helping lead a constitutional fight that could help Jagdeo to a vicarious third term, Mr. Ram should be one of the leaders of a new government. I do enjoy reading his analyses of the issues, but I would prefer not to continue reading such analyses for five more years under another government that lacks great leadership, vision and racially unifying capability.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
