Guyanese Online

From the Diaspora…

PRESIDENT DONALD RAMOTAR IS PRESIDING OVER THE DEATH OF THE PPP

Some years ago on a visit to Guyana, I had the misfortune of experiencing a relative dying. It was not pleasant, but it was an experience that remains indelibly in memory. He had an enlarged heart and was told he can die any day. The night after he received the news, he had a transformation, a total 180 degrees change in personality. The spirit of death had visited him. You would have to see this to believe what I about to say. The spirit of death was transforming his personality.

One could tell there was an internal battle going on between his conscious self and the shadows of death, his illogical utterances interspaced with some logical conversation, his unbelievable display of strength, the constant back and forth conversation between himself and the spirit of death, all totally out of character with the person I knew.

A few hours later all was quiet; the spiritual battle was finished; death had won. And as he lay on his death bed in the final throes of life he began to”travel”. The physical battle began. Death starts at the sole of your feet and works its way up. His feet were cold then lifeless, same for his legs and waist. The Pastor said even though he appeared unconscious he could still hear.  

The Minister whispered something in his ears and we saw a trembling reaction from his hands and head. He was conscious. It must be a terrible thing to know you are dying and incapable of doing anything about it. Finally the numbness reached his heart and his journey was over. His journey however, did not happen overnight, the neglect to his health started years before.

Like my relative, the PPP as a political party has been dying for years. However the resignation of the highly respected former Speaker of the House and PPP stalwart, Ralph Ramkarran, has put the PPP in death throes, the likes of which the PPP will not be able to recover from unless President Donald Ramotar can show some fortitude, display strong leadership and take drastic measures to resuscitate the PPP.

It doesn’t matter if Ralph Ramkarran returns to the PPP fold that is irrelevant at this stage. His outspoken article about corruption within the Government, and his subsequent resignation have hastened the death of the party. Death is working its way to the heart of the PPP.

President Ramotar has the power to stop it. The question – is he going to take any action or will he let the patient die?

I am sure some may ask about the symptoms which are showing the PPP is in demise. In 1992 the PPP received 162,000 votes from roughly 300,000 vote cast.  Moving on to the 1997 elections, with a voter turnout of nearly 400,000 the PPP got 220,000 a gain of 58,000 votes but the PNC also picked up 33,000 new votes for a total of 161,000 votes.

Of note, the cast votes had increased by 100,000 new voters in 1997. Moving on to the 2001 elections the PPP dropped to 210,000 votes a loss of approximately 10,000 supporters while the PNC gained 4,000 vote for a tally of 165,00 votes. Then came Bharrat Jagdeo elections in 2006 where the PPP made its biggest gains in Parliamentary seats, but this was also deceiving because the PPP dropped to 182,000 votes, a loss of 28,000 votes.

It gained more seats because the PNC did worse garnering only 114,000 votes.  This steady decline made me predict long before the elections last year that the PPP could lose the elections. No one at that time even conceived such a thought. When I brought my views to former President Bharrat Jagdeo on a fundraising trip to Orlando last year, he said that they “ran the numbers” and will win the elections.

The 2011 elections saw the PPP slumped to 166,000 votes a loss of 16,000 votes despite an increase in voter turnout of 7,000. In 2011 the PNC under the banner of APNU pulled in a gain of 25,000 votes for a total of 139,000 votes… Just 27,000 votes separated the two major parties.
The PPP has been in steady decline for the past three elections, the PNC has shown increase.
The point I want to show here is that the PPP supporters are disenchanted, frustrated with the constant revelation of corruption, and are staying away from the polls. There are some in the PPP hierarchy who are aware of this while some are in denial.

One senior executive of the PPP told me flatly that Bharrat Jagdeo divided and destroyed the PPP and there may be a lot of truth to that. The PPP Government must realize that you can build the best roads, airport, hydropower or whatever grandiose plans you may implement.

Every Guyanese can own a car and a house. At the end of the day no one, even PPP supporters, likes people to steal his hard earned money, be it one’s personal money or one’s tax dollars. Nobody likes a thief.

Instead of confronting the truth the thieving elements in the PPP viciously attacked this decent man for telling the truth. Problem is what Ralph Ramkarran said was nothing new or revealing to the Guyanese public. Every “rum shop drinker” knows who the crooks are; who is getting rich overnight.

There is talk of a snap elections. Take it from me; the PPP will not dare call a snap elections. It will lose the Presidency if it does. The resignation of Ramkarran made sure of that.

So where does the President go from here? Begging Ralph Ramkarran to come back will not solve the PPP problem, the damage has been done. The question is what life saving measures the President can make to resuscitate the PPP.

The President has to demonstrate that he can make bold decisions regardless of what others think. The end must justify the means. A firefighter in Orlando will cut a car in seconds to save the life of the driver. The destruction of the car is his least concern. The surgeon will amputate both legs of that driver in the hospital to save his life, the legs are unimportant at that point. So what decisions will President make to save the PPP?

Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com