Dear All,
An inside peek at the cabal that seeks to destroy a nation.
Although I have been absent from Guyanese politics for the past few years, my conscience does not allow me to remain silent at these most critical hours. Now more than ever, I feel burdened with the responsibility of relaying my own experiences and interactions with the “cream” of the PPP/C’s crop while I was employed at OP from 2010 – 2013. I do this so that my fellow Guyanese may be afforded the opportunity to see past the cloak which guises the PPP/C.
I left Guyana on my own accord and refused a renewal of my contract at OP in 2013, and I also refused other employment opportunities with the Government of Guyana based in New York, regardless of how the PPP/C will try to spin it. I did so to pursue my admission to practice law, but I also left because by then it became clear to me that the PPP/C is ill suited to run a bank, let alone an entire country.
During my years at OP, I had the unfortunate experience of meeting with many high-ranking officials and I was not impressed at all. I met with Charles Ramson Sr., who wanted to scold me for urging our government to pay more attention to its international lawsuits and who actually tried to convince me that within 5 years, all Guyanese living abroad would return to Guyana! I was lectured by Dr. Roger Luncheon during the 2011 campaign about needing his personal approval for articles I wrote myself advocating for the PPP/C – I simply ignored and paid him no mind. I attended media response meetings chaired by Dr. Luncheon, and I was astonished at how such a well-educated man could speak in such riddles, round and round like a merry go-round, ultimately saying nothing at all. I rode in the car with then President Jagdeo to a pre-rally in Berbice and he actually said to me that he cannot believe that after putting up so many streetlights in Berbice, that Berbicians now feel they are entitled to more. I recall meeting with President Ramotar, then General Secretary at Freedom House and was shocked that the only question he could conjure up was about my loyalty to Communism; a dead, obsolete and useless political ideology. Then there was the time Clement Rohee did his best attorney impersonation, trying to explain what hearsay was to party members at a Freedom House group meeting, without realizing that there are several exceptions that allow statements that are considered hearsay to nevertheless be admitted into evidence. I urged Gail several times to begin creating anti money laundering models for Guyana, long before it became such a hotly contested issue. I talked her several times about actually moving past the theoretical notions of e-governance and actually put it into practice. Same thing with the family court and the disharmony of our Government’s websites. She scolded me for taking the initiative for reaching out to Dr. Luncheon to allow me to help. I sat there and laughed to myself as Gail would tell me how she went toe-to-toe with Roger Khan and how she was the only person in the PPP/C not scared of him. Gail was intent on keeping me locked away in a room typing up letters and giving me the most menial tasks imaginable – I guess in that unimaginative brain of hers, it was payback for being Cheddi Jagan’s glorified secretary all those years. I shook my head in disbelief at the unmeritorious arguments presented by PPP/C Parliamentarians and it didn’t take me long to realize that the opposition had much better trained minds. I was disgusted when I had to be thrown through hoops and hurdles to renew my PPP/C membership, which excuse me if it comes across in the wrong way, I have a birth right to be part of. And the prevailing anti-American sentiment among all the upper echelon of the PPP/C is baffling – Guyana is the only English speaking nation in South America; we should open up and welcome in the proven greatest nation in this world, the USA, so that we can strengthen our economy correctly, by foreign investment with the right partners. I shouldn’t have to remind the PPP/C that but for US-based intervention in the critical 1992 election; the PNC would have still been rigging the elections. Funny enough, all of these “comrades” gossip about each other’s personal lives and ridicule one another behind their backs.
I have personally witnessed the epitome of dirty politicking; with fake email addresses and Facebook profiles being created, electronic intrusion mechanisms employed, personal attacks levied against opposition members that have nothing to do with politics. I have seen official Government representatives ridicule, bully, even attack and injure regular, hard-working Guyanese. I talked to dozens of our people at the Impress Youth Expo and at the PPP/C’s 2011 rallies, many who admitted attending only for free food and hand-outs. I watched the 2011 Elections result in a minority in Parliament for the PPP/C and despite the golden opportunity to engage in meaningful, inclusive and shared discourse for the betterment of our nation, the PPP/C again played big bad wolf. I visited my grandfather’s cremation site at Babu John, and literally cried tears when I saw less than 200 feet away many considerable mounds of garbage and trash. They chant and scream Cheddi Jagan’s name, they recite his words, they raise banners of his image, they decorate themselves with his likeness – but Cheddi and Janet Jagan, their principles and ideals are entirely absent from the current PPP/C’s true intentions, thoughts and conduct.
The only way to change the PPP/C is to allow them to lose so that they are forced to rebuild from the ground up, without those persons responsible for ruining it. Many of the PPP/C stalwarts stood the test of time in staying true to my grandparents during the 30 years of the PNC’s self-imposed rule, but not one of them will stick around in opposition again – they are too accustomed to the good life and the perks to tough it out ever again, they stuck around then because they had a great leader with backbone, this group visionless Cheddi and Janet Jagan wannabes are addicted to power and will never sacrifice their own time and money to rebuild the PPP/C. Watch and see for yourselves. Truthfully, most of them will flee Guyana and run to the countries they acquired citizenship or immigration status in behind closed doors, while at the same time cursing those nations, just as they do when they or their relatives become sick. It is the time for this era of the PPP/C to be forced into retirement; they have betrayed their grass-roots and the ideals and principles that made it the party it was. There is nothing Cheddi and Janet Jagan left about the PPP/C, only their names and pictures.
And truthfully what is the worst that can happen? If the Coalition wins and they end up being worse than this PPP/C, the PPP/C will swiftly be reelected to office five years from now – but at least Guyanese would know once and for all which side is truly more fit to run Guyana while also at the same time forcing the PPP/C to get back to its former self, its Cheddi and Janet Jagan self, which is ultimately in Guyana’s best interest. The PPP/C will say that five years is a long time and that it will impede the progress that they have made. But honestly, from 2011’s elections until now, what progress has been made? A four-lane highway that does not address the traffic issues where they are most prevalent? A fancy Marriot hotel that the overwhelming majority of Guyanese will never be able to afford? There has been no progress, only controversy after controversy and it is time for Guyanese to stop accepting it. Trust me, the PPP/C continued tenure for the next five years will bring little to no progress in the grand scheme of true progress – it is for their own good and for the ultimate benefit of Guyana that they take a hiatus to rebuild. And believe me, if this Coalition wins and doesn’t deliver on what they promised, I will be advocating for their removal as well.
I am still fairly young; 31 years old. I have matured significantly in my thoughts and my conduct. I have learned a great deal of things. Indeed, I am not perfect and there are many more lessons in life that I must learn. But I can say without reservation, that in three years at OP and being around this PPP/C’s elite, the only thing I learned was how to not run a country.
Respectfully and Faithfully Yours,
Cheddi Berret Jagan II, Esq.