Dear Editor,
I am aware of Mr. Charles Ramson Jr. qualifications as a lawyer but I am now of the belief that he may need to take a political science class. His statement yesterday and I quote ““it would mean that the child of a senior officer in a business/company would never be able to work in that business/company.
The reality is quite the opposite: most parents who own businesses have at least some degree of expectation of their children assisting in that business” (Inews April 12, 2015) suggesting then that the children of political leaders should be expected to not only be interested in politics but automatically assent to positions of leadership as is done in business. This sends off two bells for me.
First Ramson Jr. is inferring that the PPP is synonymous to a private business and thus is owned by a few people who expect their children to take over. This leaves little to no room for the layman who may be a supporter of the PPP to ascend to high office as he would not have been born into the right family.
Secondly his analogy also suggests to me that Ramson Jr. sees his assent to the possibility of governance of this great country of ours as tantamount to a family business and I am struggling to wrap my head around the fact that any one person could even think much less utter thoughts that suggest that this country, our country is a family business .Might I remind Ramson Jr. that being given the opportunity to serve the people of this great nation is not synonymous with being given a position as an officer of a private business and further the belief that space should be automatically made available to the children of the leaders in government has a name and it is called oligarchy.
Let me see if I can spell it out better. According to the New World Encyclopedia The word oligarchy (is derived from the Greek words for “few” and “rule” . Oligarchy “rule by the few”) refers to the limitation of political power to only a small portion of the community, such as a few families or individuals (the oligarchs). While you may not have used the word oligarchy your reference to parents’ ownership of business suggests that you liken the ownership of a private business to someone’s ownership of the PPP/C and further government.
On the other hand I am of the firm belief that Ramson Jr. did not get this idea from thin air but it is the belief of the leadership of the PPP. This thus contradicts the massive monies spent on advertisements that try to convince the population that we are living under a thriving democracy. Mr. Ramson Jr. oligarchy and democracy are two different types of control of power. And just in case you weren’t aware the people of this country do not wish to be governed by an oligarchy.
Tabitha Sarabo- Halley.
Lovely…. Well said
So ms Tabitha is attempting to discredit the point Mr Ramson raised by her feeble move to dissect and bisect Everything that he said….ms Tabitha being the great ‘Political Scientist’ that she is, should have done her research globally before writing such an ill-informed letter…let’s start with the political scientist just analysing USA’s high offices….
In USA children of people in high office, their children follow their foot step eg President George Bush sr had his son George Bush jr. was president and His other son Jeb Bush will try and get nominated for the 2016 election.. Bill and Hillary Clinton Hillary is running for president. Gov Como was gov of NY now his son is the Gov of NY. JFK< and his brother were running for President and his other brother Ted Kennedy was a powerful senator of Mass.. and the list goes on and no one bother to comment in the USA. that family clan are toking over certain party that these family represent.. long live the PPP 5 more year of good Govt.
Good letter, however its a matter of opinion in how you interpret his comments. For me, I believe that any Guyanese with the credentials and proper acumen can be a part of any policitical party. Good example, Mr. Clinton Urling!
The fact is, the children of former political leaders are a part of both the ruling PPP and the opposition. It is every persons democratic right to be a part of the process, I see no harm in allowing children of politicians to exhibit their political desires.
Your opinion on his comment is also driven by the preference for the political party you support.
Your interpretation or assumption that Mr. Ramson Jr. was insinuating that the PPP practices or supports oligarchy should be what it is, an opinion or an assumption. However to write confidently that oligarchy was the mainframe of Mr. Ramson Jr. comment is quite mischievous and misleading.
Maybe you would have been better of keeping it as an opinion before your decided to go further and ASS U ME!
Perfect and to the point,BRAVO
Bravo Tabitha, I’ve been saying it all along Mr. Ramotar’s attitude to being in “Power” was tantamount to declaring a dictatorial regime! I truly do believe that the people of Guyana need to wake up before it’s too late.