Dear Editor,
It seems as if the new President of the United States, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are moving towards dismantling and undoing everything that Donald Trump has done under his presidency including foreign policy, and immigration matters. In Guyana, the PPPC government is setting aside the APNU/ AFC coalition government decisions and reverting to their policies when it was in power between 1992 and 2015 – 23 long years under five Presidents, Cheddi Jagan- 1992 -97, Sam Hinds briefly in 1997, Janet Jagan 1997 – 1999, Bharat Jagdeo 1999-2011,and Donald Ramotar 2011 to 2015. The PPPC lost power in 2015 because it was felt that there was too much corruption especially under the Jagdeo and Ramotar administrations.
Jagdeo could not have served a third term because the new Constitution does not permit it and it is felt that Ramotar was chosen as a “stand in” for Jagdeo who was still running the show. The PNCR under the leadership of David Granger realized that the party could not have defeated Jagdeo and as a result formed an alliance – a marriage of convenience – with the Alliance for Change (AFC) and the joint movement barely scraped in and secured the majority to form the government. But the coalition did not live up to what was expected and made blunder after blunder, and as a result a no confidence motion was moved against the Granger administration and a disgruntled AFC member, Charrandaas Persaud, an attorney, voted in favour resulting in the motion being passed.
But it was not easy to remove the coalition government. There were a series of lawsuits which ended up before the highest court of the land, the CCJ. The first challenge was the appointment of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, second was that 33 was not the majority of 65 votes, and finally, after the elections were held the votes were not finally counted until after five long months. There have been endless protests and reports of fraud so much so that two key players in the senseless delay have been charged. CARICOM and international agencies observed the elections and a special team was sent to oversee the recount, and those officials were not treated too kindly by a couple of the then coalition government appointed Commission-ers. It was very shameful and embarrassing.
After the unprecedented long delay the government took office when young Irfaan Ali was sworn in as President and former president Jagdeo was named vice president. A new position and some critics feel that he still wield power. Yesterday, it was announced that the Russian trained economist will oversee the design including the signing and issuances of Guyana’s currency notes. His appointment raises eyebrows since Dr. Ashni Singh is the minister of finance, but Ali says that Jagdeo has specific oversight responsibility for finance and he was the correct person to have such authority in keeping with Section 23 of the Bank of Guyana Act. All in all it seems as if the new 40 year old President who recently obtained his doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies (UWI), seems he can hold his own in the international world, and can be able to properly lead the country, but he must try not to be misguided.
There are many in the wings waiting to have a piece of the action in the light of the massive oil discovery. The Attorney General Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, is a brilliant, experienced and articulate attorney/ politician and he can be a great asset to Guyana’s development. I should point out that he was in the forefront in the fight for justice during the post-election fiasco. He deserves more recognition and he can be of great help to the young President. It seems as if Dr. Frank Anthony, a medical doctor, is on the ball in relation to COVID 19 which has affected the entire planet.
Sincerely,
Oscar Ramjeet
