By Jomo Paul
At a late Saturday afternoon press conference to announce the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord, which officially bonds the two political parties, it was promised that the new government once formed will reflect the complexity of the coalition and will serve not just a percentage of Guyana but all of it.
Prime Ministerial Candidate for the coalition, Moses Nagamootoo said that the newly formed coalition is the “tonic” that is needed to push Guyana forward into the 21st Century.
According to Nagamootoo, a number of individuals have reached out to him over the past months, some of whom have indicated their interest in joining the coalition and having a seat at its table.
He said while the coalition still has its doors open to members of other political parties and civil society, those persons will be screened before they can be granted entry.
“There are some elements who have been talking to us. Some have had others as emissaries talk to us, some have varying interest some have specific interests other have other interests…Some ‘I hope you’re not going to take away our jobs’….So we are assuring that there would be no discrimination, no recrimination, no vendetta, no one, no one has anything to lose, if you are honest and you have conducted yourself within the law,” said Nagamootoo.
When he was questioned about his preparedness for the campaign trail and possible ad hominem attacks from the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration, Nagamootoo made it clear that he will not be bothered by such.
“They could say what they want to say…I will not be bothered by the negatives of the PPP, because a dying decaying regime would become a little more aggressive and dangerous as it becomes moribund. It’s like a cow a going to the slaughterhouse; they would mess on themselves so I would ignore them.”
It was made clear that the coalition was not going into the election with the thought of defeat on its mind given the ground support it has received from the electorate over the two parties coalescing.
Nagamootoo is adamant that the coalition marks a “genuine, new beginning in our history” and should therefore be hailed as such, given its dynamic composition and all that it represents.
