Jagan’s legacy is being shunted aside

Jagan’s legacy is being shunted aside
Stabroek News letter. Tuesday 8 July 2008
http://www.stabroeknews.com/letters/jagan%e2%80%99s-legacy-is-being-shunted-aside/

Dear Editor,
As we approach congress, party members should be aware that not only do they have the future of the party in their hands but also the future of the government and the country. Note that it is at congress that they have a vote, that they have a voice to show their support or disapproval.

It is at congress that they will have a say in shaping the future for their children and especially the working class – a class that the president and some leaders of the PPP seem to have forgotten.

You would recognize that while they talk of Jagan’s legacy, that legacy is nowhere to be found in their mindset and in their policies and in the newbees that have risen in the leadership of the party. I believe that the President’s credibility is at an all-time low. It is the same with sections of the PPP leadership, some of whom have materialized out of nowhere, but that is another very important discussion.

Members have to address the question of persons of rightist ideology taking over the leadership of the PPP. Members have to address the sidelining of longstanding members who have been in the trenches and who have Guyana, the working class and the PPP at heart.

But back to the President. As we all know he was an unknown in popular terms before he was made Minister of Finance. At first he was a junior minister in the Ministry of Finance but when he became minister a junior minister no longer seemed necessary. That is the nature of President Jagdeo. He must manage everything. Nothing can be done without his say and this has resulted in poor governance.

Genuine party members who are qualified and who have proven to have the party, the country and the working class at heart have not been and are not being placed in positions where they can develop themselves to better serve their party, government and country. Possibly they would have surpassed the new comers. Where is the logic? What new strength, what new forces and constituencies have these civic ministers and appointees of the President brought into the power play to strengthen the PPP? The answer is, nothing. This tendency flies in the face of democracy.

Members have to ask why is the decision of congress to have 20% civic being flouted. What is the PPP leadership doing about this? The problem is that when someone is appointed it allows them to become popular, and many of our members vote for leaders without a proper examination of the issues. So these people seem to be taking over the leadership of the party and Jagan’s legacy is shunted aside
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)