The PPP Congress

August 12, 2013 · By Staff Writer Stabroek News

While it may appear to be a minor point, the way in which the ruling PPP treated reporters at the opening of its 30th Congress in Port Mourant two Fridays ago is reflective of some of its inner traumas: paranoia, the need for absolute control of information, distrust of the media and orchestration of events. The media were corralled in cramped quarters, spoken down to, had no freedom of movement and had to be escorted by security personnel for a drink of water or to relieve themselves. That type of behaviour, more associated with Orwellian boot camps in distant societies, offered a valid insight into the state of the party today. The media would have been well in order to protest the oppressive conditions and leave.

Members of the party and all Guyanese would have looked at this congress for signs as to how the PPP hopes to influence the government to ensure that Parliament – despite the narrow opposition majority –   can work more productively for the country. There was little in this respect particularly in the general secretary’s report which included a long cuss down of the opposition and sections of the media. This seemingly infected other presentations so much so that groups like Red Thread and the women miners association were also attacked.

In his opening address to the congress, President Ramotar deprecated the present configuration of Parliament by relating descriptions from some Guyanese on what was happening in the assembly. Instructively, he then said “This is a serious issue. In fact it is a wound on the body politic of our nation. It is a wound and one that is festering and reopening every time a sensible, moral and costed development project is stalled because the Opposition wants to hold back progress, or the cheap publicity or promoting agendas inimical to our people”.

Such uncompromising and caustic language would from the outset appear to rule out any deeper engagement though ironically a few days later the government implored the opposition to support the Amaila hydropower project and succeeded in winning over the Alliance for Change. That collaboration contradicted the President’s charge but it was nevertheless important that the party emit a clear signal from the congress that it was open to deeper engagement with the opposition and mature compromises.

The Political Declaration emanating on Saturday from Congress was not constructive in this respect as it did not address frontally the question of how the government would navigate the opposition-controlled Parliament. The only hint at a co-operative outlook was in the following declaration “We affirm our commitment to continue efforts to build and to work with a national united pro-democracy alliance of stakeholders and made up of workers, farmers, business, intellectuals and professionals, women, and youth from all races and ethnic groups to maintain and speed up the forward momentum of the developmental thrust in our country”.

If the foregoing excluded the political opposition and their representatives in parliament, then the PPP is reinforcing the cardinal error by its government in refusing to accept the reality that the November 28, 2011 result has put the opposition in charge of the legislature and, like it or not, the government has to inhabit this arrangement, not in a piecemeal manner as in the Amaila appeal, but in the context of a full-term legislative agenda that recognizes the interests of all sides and the primacy of good governance.

Otherwise, the cost to the country will be incalculable. The starkest representation of this is the withdrawal of Sithe Global from what was to be the largest ever energy undertaking in this country’s history.  Sithe Global did not drop this project because of the incisive analyses of public commentators. It exited because it could not be certain that this government could deliver commitments needed to advance the ambitious hydropower project. Under those circumstances no savvy investor weighing the political risk would stay in the game. The departure of Sithe Global will make viral the concerns about the investment climate here and the inability of the government to deliver. The bluster of the government in this matter and its continual resort to the courts to spare its blushes now amount to nothing. It has been obliterated like accidental dew in Sahara heat. Short of general elections which no one wants and the country and the parties can ill afford, the only way ahead is to knuckle down to serious discussions in Parliament on the way forward. Compromises have to be made on all sides.

Very interestingly, the Political Declaration addressed the matter of ethnic insecurity in what would appear a ground-breaking departure for the PPP which has historically argued that any such cleavage is manufactured and a shibboleth of its detractors. The declaration said “We recognize that ethnic insecurities are real and that any political solution must address these insecurities and build trust and confidence among our people”. Is this a tantalizing hint of openness to the other major party on some form of shared government? It is a significant admission as it recognizes that PPP/C governance over 21 years has failed to address this problem or has contributed to it.

On the question of corruption that has dogged the party and rent its relations with senior party figures such as Mr Ralph Ramkarran, the declaration engaged in platitudes. It said “We stand firmly on the side of good governance, the promotion of accountability in government and in the party and transparency of those in public life. Furthermore, we support the party in government and the party in firmly addressing such cases of corruption wheresoever they are found in a timely manner”.  It conceded nothing at all. Not even a description of its present mechanism for addressing charges of corruption.

What was deeply surprising was the declaration’s complete silence on the dire state of the sugar industry particularly as the Congress had convened in the centre of the sugar belt and at the birth place of its founder, Dr Cheddi Jagan, whose life was so inextricably bound up with the industry. Its avoidance of this matter  can only be a recognition of the severity of the crisis in the industry and that no viable solutions were discussed. The President himself in his opening address had little to add on this matter. Revealingly, there was also not a single word about long anticipated local government elections.

Perhaps the most talked about and interesting feature of the congress was the elections to the new Central Committee. Though these internal elections have often been called into question, the fact that former President Jagdeo was only slightly behind President Ramotar will titillate and bolster the well-held view that Mr Jagdeo intends to closely superintend what is happening in the party and government and may have continued aspirations to public office.  Power relations at the top of the party could be a further hindrance to the orderly functioning of government and the public will be very interested in how this plays out.

When the new central committee is ranged against that of 2008 it is remarkably clear that the party has lost influential and inspirational leaders and these have not been replaced.  This weakening of the party doesn’t bode well for its prospects at steering a decisive course through its present challenges.  This, however, it must do otherwise the country could be bogged down in months of stalemate with serious damage to the economy and the fortunes of the people.