By The Piper
Just last week former President Donald Ramotar suggested joint patrol of Guyana Defence Force personnel with the Guyana Police Force, noting as he did, that the practice is now world-wide, especially in those places dogged by crime.
None other than President Granger pounced on the former president, lambasting him for the suggestion which he thought was out of order. Then suddenly, we have Operation Dragnet, albeit under the cover of fighting not only local crime, but international terrorism.
Let me be blunt here – Donald Ramotar was one hundred per cent correct and rather than being bashed, he should at a minimum, be acknowledged for his constructive suggestion.
So why I am making a big deal of this, you ask. The answer has more to do with the quality of governance than defending former President Ramotar, or attacking President Granger. You see, Guyanese, even at the highest levels must learn to be civil, open-minded, and constructive. We come from a culture that, almost by default, seeks humiliation. Only very rarely would you find someone in government actually acknowledge that the opposition has anything useful to say.
Granger promised to be different but his recent behaviour on the issue noted above is a flagrant violation of his own standards.
Let me now turn to former president Bharrat Jagdeo. The ‘Jag’ is a smart man, both intellectually, and politically. If he weren’t then I would not have been surprised by his elliptical turns on the issue of a Sovereign Fund. The Jag stated that the Fund is a bad idea at least in the ways articulated by the current administration. He is right that Sovereign Funds really indicate and should be built on real surpluses. Fine. But then Jaggy went on to say that the PPP had the original idea for such a Fund, an admission that leaves me flummoxed.
How could a Sovereign Funds have been credible (under his administration) before verifiable hydrocarbon discoveries and not so now? There is an associated matter that needs to be addressed. The government should not take advance payments (loans really) from future oil revenues actually materialize. This will jeopardize the GoG, placing it in a position of weakness in any future negotiations over oil revenues.
As I noted in a previous column, Mexico tried that stunt and ended up crashing its economy back in 1982. Guyana is not blessed with men and women gifted with magnanimity; on the contrary, we are a tear-own and destroy culture. It is this context that I call on the Granger people to listen to former leaders, who despite all their faults, they did contribute something to our national development. Give it try and you will see that you will wake up the next morning.
The opposition should continue it constructive criticisms, failing which it would simply be warming the seats at Parliament.
I WISH TO MAKE A SMALL CONTRIBUTION TO THIS MATTER,WHILE SUGGESTIONS ARE GOOD TO MAKE BY THE FORMER PRESIDENT,THE CURRENT PRESIDENT HAVE A DUTY TO PERFORM HAD HE NEED THE ADVISE FROM MR ROMOTAR I AM SURE HE WOULD HAVE SEEK SUCH,MR RAMOTAR WAS IN GOVERNMENT AND HE HAD HIS CHANCES TODO WHAT HE WISH WHEN IT COME TO FIGHTING CRIME,PLEASE ALOOW MR.GRANGER TO DO HIS JOB AND SHOULD THE OPPOSITION NEED TO GIVE THE GOVERNMENT ADVISE,I AM SURE THERE IS A BETTER APROACH TO DO SO.
Why didn’t Ramoutar made those suggestions to Rohee,they hadn’t the border to deal with.Sometimes the opposition make me feel sick,they appear as though this crime came overnight and they have nothing to do with it
Ramotar was not right,Piper,you`ve got to stop smoking that pipe.The CRIME situation in Guyana always necessitated something bigger than Ramotar`s suggestion.His PPP/C party must be held responsible for the state of crime in this country,it got out of hand on their tour of duty.That is why I believe,President Granger rejected his suggestion.
Also Piper, Granger knows more about security than Ramotar knows about himself.
Piper, Ramotar wanted to have the army patrolling through the streets, which nothing is wrong with that concept but what is the point of having a police force if they cannot carry robust policing? I gathered from what Granger was getting at was that the army would be place in a more strategic role, that is the borders and such areas to fight crime such as drugs and gun smuggling rather driving around the city. There are various well trained part of the force who can do the same job. The police force need to step-up, likewise the judicial system.
Piper, you always just comment on your percieved downside.The President, did not hesitate to do the right thing, even though, his hasty advisors had nay sayed it earlier. The PPP, and especially their Presidential choices, never did, or will never do the same.It was always,”wrong and strong”.Making mistakes is a part of life, but correcting the mistakes, without predudice is the hallmark of a true leader..
Sounds about right
1. Ramotar was right to call for a police-army operation to fight the recent upsurge in dangerous and deadly gun crime, but that is an isolated and minuscule credit he deserves when crime is looked at holistically and historically. The PPP was in power 22.7 years and not once was the police force ever genuinely reformed even as criminality defined the government, the police and wider society. He passed the baton of a criminally corrupt system to Granger and Granger yet to get a firm grip of the baton so as to focus on the race.
2. The SWF, as described by Jagdeo, is different from the hypothetical answer Trotman provided to a hypothetical answer posed by Demerarawaves. It was not a case where Trotman called a press conference to announce government will borrow money from ExxonMobil against a future pay day from oil sale. We have to stop counting chickens before they are hatched and focus on protecting existing ‘golden eggs’ and growing chickens.
3. And if Jagdeo was a smart man politically and intellectually, why did the PPP end up losing its parliamentary majority in 2011 then hold on power in 2015? As for Jagdeo being smart and an intellectual, that is a subjective debate that is not worth time or thought.
Course the Ex-President was right however Granger wanted to scoled him for been correct. Granger is ashamed to admit that he has listen to the EX-President.
Good advice to the OPPOSITION and government. Heed and learn.
Ramotar, Jagdeo and Nandalall have to constantly school the bunch of bumbling idiots in tne govt.
Ramotar was right on the Security Matter
Ramo was never right on any subject matter::
Ramo must come clean with East Indians and tell them the truth how PPP regime rammed the big shaft up them.
Under PPP regime no infrastructure works completed like was done in PNC villages.
When asked why this is os Ramo lied when he said its contractors and the fault of the weather.
All PPP regimes were too busy appeasing PNC supporters in order to keep the peace. Right now this media could ask any PPP president to say how much was spent in PPP strongholds compared to what was spent in PNC strongholds.
The US was right to remove PPP from office and install PNC.
Nobody will listen to your suggestions because you are leaning towards the opposition. Apnu+afc supporters still believe that they have not done anything wrong by giving them a chance to win. The economy, business and agriculture including the mining industry is suffering. People did not see any hike in the salary and even worry about getting the salary in time if the same situation is continue to next financial year. The men in force are caught in robbery and criminal activities.
Mr. President is this the Guyana you promised us???