The APNU/AFC team – transformational leadership for national unity and development

DEAR EDITOR, The Granger/Nagamootoo Team symbolizes the type of leadership that is so fundamentally necessary for national unity and national development as Guyana makes its way painfully through the 21st century under the anachronistic PPP juggernaut masquerading as Government with 48.6 percent of the votes at the 2011 National and Regional Elections. In the political management of a failed State such as Guyana, transformational leadership becomes the harbinger of a democratic nation-state. It is effective and efficient; it is highly visible and utilizes a chain of command to accomplish its goals and objectives; and it focuses on the larger picture (Burns 1978). Transformational leaders are possessed of integrity and high emotional intelligence, they motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. Transformational leaders inspire their constituencies because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict resolution skills (Flamholtz and Randle, 2007). A study of the Granger/Nagamootoo Team shows two mature and intelligent leaders who have shared vision and goals. Both are humble “village citizens” who have struggled against various forms of adversities and inequalities and have risen to great professional heights. Both have deeply ingrained self-respect, self-confidence and self-dignity and they care overwhelmingly for the national weal. Both have political strengths rooted in the ordinary working man and woman and yet they understand the necessity of involving all sectors in the process of national development. David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo are, indeed, transformational leaders. The Granger/Nagamootoo leadership abhor “back-balling” and race-baiting and instead appeal to, and uphold, higher moral standards of personal and professional behavior that characterize political leaders of worth. They reject spousal abuse and the relegation of our women folk to a level below their male counterparts. They are united in their understanding that ALL are equal before the law of the land and that the rule of law is fundamental to good governance. They have the potential to weld together the fragmented dimensions of national and political unity that have eluded previous leaders of our nation for so long. And they steadfastly believe with pride in the national motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny. And that is why the transactional leadership of the ancien rÉgime of the present PPP is so deathly afraid of the transformational leadership of David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo. Over the past 23 years, Messrs Jagdeo and Ramotar have hampered meaningful national development and have harmed the national weal. Indeed, there is no national development project that the Jagdeo-Ramotar Administration has completed without controversy or absolute high handedness. They have almost permanently scarred the nation’s profile with unbridled corruption, nepotism, and criminal practice. And, therefore, the majority of Guyanese must restore national pride, national dignity and national respect by voting for the transformational leadership of David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo on May 11, 2015. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE! Halim Majeed