From the Diaspora…PPP REPEATING

THE MISTAKES OF THE PNC, COULD

LOSE PRESIDENCY NEXT ELECTION

 
By Ralph Seeram
During the reign of the PNC, it was fashionable to blame everyone but the party for the problems of the economy, for the shortage of foodstuff. If sugar and rice were scarce it was because shopkeepers were hoarding, not because the country was exporting every ounce of sugar and every grain of rice to scrape up foreign exchange dollars.
If you complain or criticize you were deemed “an enemy of the state”. In time the Guyanese people wised up. No amount of propaganda could fool the people of what the true state of the economy was. The sad thing was the PNC government actually started to believe its own propaganda.
Enter Dr. Roger Luncheon, a man who should just fade away before the very little creditability he has left, evaporates. The PPP government could not find a worse spokesperson, every time he opens his mouth he not only embarrasses the Government, but insults the intelligence of the Guyanese public.

BLAME THE MESSENGER
It’s an old propaganda trick, blame the messenger not the message. So now according to Luncheon the media is responsible for the low ranking Guyana received for perception of corruption and transparency. It’s not because some in the government are corrupt; it’s not because of secretive contracts that enriched friends and families of the administration; it’s the media’s fault for exposing them.
Roger Luncheon needs to step out of his office and ask the “man in the street” what he thinks of the government. While he is at it, take a few Government Ministers like Robert Persaud, Irfaan Ali and Dr. Ashni Singh. Go ask the public what it thinks of the Ministers and the PPP government in terms of corruption and transparency.
Georgetown flooded. Who gets the blame? According to Agriculture Minister Ramsammy, it was a failure to forecast the rain, as if had the government known ahead of the pending heavy rain the clogged up drains and grass choked trenches and canals would have miraculously allowed the water to drain.

SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES
During the PNC regime the government was the largest employer; the major industries were nationalized. Sugar and bauxite were government controlled as well as all the government agencies.
The majority of the PNC supporters got jobs not because they were qualified for the position, but simply because they were “comrades”. The PPP in this respect is no different. The most disgusting display of this is the appointment of Carol Sooba as Town Clerk for the city of Georgetown.
No one can say or prove what this woman’s qualifications are. For sure we know she does not hold a degree. Reports said she showed evidence of three subjects, which means she failed the exam. Both Roger Luncheon and Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud evaded the question of this woman’s qualifications.
What qualification did this woman use to get into a Law Programme?  To hear Roger Luncheon explain it, academic qualification is not the main criterion.  The view is that you must be a supporter of the PPP. The other criterion is that the PPP must be able to “jerk your strings”
This appointment of the Georgetown Town Clerk is very sickening if not disgusting and a total insult to the intelligence of the Guyanese public. It sends a message to those aspiring for higher education, not to “waste your time”, just be a card carrying supporter of the PPP and the job is yours. This penchant for the PPP to be in control of everything is going to lead to its demise,
The Guyanese people gave the PPP a message at the 2011 election but some in the PPP did not notice. The PPP acts as if it still controls Parliament. Its inflexible attitude and non compromising position will sweep it out of power come next election.
Any minority government knows that it has to compromise with its opposition. This is not the case with the PPP.
On the Money Laundering Bill it could have compromised. If you look at the issues between the opposition and the government, they boil down to the PPP wanting control of everything, well the reality is it doesn’t work that way  in the real world of politics.
While we are on the subject of perception, the PPP comes across as very vindictive to people who oppose or criticize it.
I have friends who constantly tell me to be “careful what you say about the PPP, they are vindictive, this is the perception of people living in Guyana, and it is widespread.
You cannot mention the word corruption; we all know what happened to Ralph Ramkarran when he spoke about corruption within the party.
The problem for the PPP is that the current crop of senior party members is more interested in the interest on their banks accounts than the interest of the working class. The working class party leaders have long been pushed aside by Bharrat Jagdeo and replaced by people who after leaving office would have no need for the PPP. Their bank accounts have already been secured like his.
Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.