Dear Editor,
GHK Lall’s letter in the January 1st edition of SN that `Ali does not have what it takes’ is nonsense.
The truth is that Dr. Ali as a Presidential Candidate has more experience than Granger, coming in as a very successful, experienced, and effective Minister who led the most successful housing programme within Caricom and further afield. Granger was a political unknown who was catapulted into party leadership at a convention where a gunshot was fired and Aubrey Norton and others did not have nice things to say about the conduct of the PNC internal elections. As President, Mr. Granger was more like an “Arthur Chung” type of president, mostly doing ceremonial things and largely aloof.
Dr. Ali was elected in a democratic process within the PPP’s rules. President Bharrat Jagdeo was the longest serving President when democracy was restored after 28 years of the brutal, oppressive PNC dictatorship. Naturally, he is very experienced and influential in the party as Leader of the Opposition side. He is very well liked and would probably win again if he were to be allowed to run for President. Mr. Jagdeo has been a very effective Opposition Leader who has strategically brought down the PNC through the No Confidence Motion. He walloped them at Local Government Election (LGE) in 2016 by 25,000 votes, in 2018 he walloped them by 45,000 votes and in 2018 defeated the PNC in the No Confidence Vote. The PNC is in a panic hoping that GECOM’s help will make them win.
So it is not unexpected that if Mr. Jagdeo is backing you, you are likely to be successful within the party. While I thought Mr. Nandlall would have been an excellent Presidential Candidate, the point is that Dr. Ali got the most votes, and we must all now stand behind him. Mr. Nandlall is a future President as the PPP has a large pool of good people.
In politics, you deride and demonize your enemy such as saying Dr. Ali would be Mr. Jagdeo’s puppet. Truth be told, notwithstanding the ills of the PPP’s terms in office, Guyana’s most prosperous years of development happened during the Jagdeo era. Business boomed all over the country, huge buildings went up, infrastructural development was massive, new jobs were being created, money was flowing, businesses were doing well, markets were bustling, and people were better off. We were better off under the PPP than under the PNC now. The goal should now be to change it back, but put in more systems to make the PPP more accountable.
What Mr. Lall should understand is that the PPP is the only party with a team of three living Presidents available as mentors and coaches to the incoming younger President, Dr. Ali and others who would be the new Ministers. So nothing is wrong with Mr. Jagdeo being a mentor to Dr. Ali. If I were in Dr. Ali’s position I would not only welcome it but seek it. Mr. Jagdeo, while still young, is now an “elder statesman” and has much to offer. He is a formidable Opposition Leader and still drives fear in the hearts of the PNC, so they must keep demonising him to score political points.
Yours faithfully,
Jerry Singh
