Not surprised at bitter dogfighting

Dear Editor,
As a former member of the Alliance for Change, I am not in the least surprised at the bitter dogfighting waged by a gang of political mercenaries for the last bits of crumbs, even as the AFC is in its dying throes. Since the 2011 general elections, there has always been this type of face-off for power within the AFC, especially among its leaders.

These leaders are unwilling to even attempt to deliver their promises to improve the lives of the Guyanese people as they continue to lose focus on their founding principles. Their manifesto was simply a sales pitch to the Guyanese populace!

But who are the leaders of this gang? It cannot be Trotman since he is quite comfortable being back in the arms of his former party, the PNC, actually, he never left! It is none other than the two former PPP Executive members: Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan! These two ‘gentlemen’ were expelled from the PPP because of this same acute propensity for opportunism and self-aggrandizement.

They wanted power but they could not afford to allow the Party mechanism to function. They were in a haste to live the ‘fat cats’ and Cadillac lifestyle and in so doing, were willing to sacrifice whatever shred of integrity and dignity they had remaining. This thin façade of integrity soon withered and their true selves were laid bare for all to see.

Only a few months ago, the Public Security Minister Ramjattan was willing to use blatant rigging techniques to oust his ‘buddy’, Nagamootoo, in the race to become the leader of the AFC. There were at least three RMC elections to ensure that those in support of Ramjattan were installed as office bearers and then the delegates for the Conference last June were ‘selected’ to support him. Then, at the Conference, the matter of the selection of the PM candidate was skilfully raised and cunningly concluded in favour of Ramjattan.

The remaining older members of the AFC never wanted Ramjattan to be the leader but many ‘new’ members were bribed and taken to the Conference to vote in favour of Ramjattan and his cronies. This move saw Nagamootoo and his faction being decimated with surgical precision! Nagamootoo’s body language as he exited the Conference said it all.

It was time for Ramjattan to shed his pretensions and remove the obstacles hindering his ascension to the Prime Ministerial candidacy and the First Vice President position.

However, Granger apparently became aware of Ramjattan’s shenanigans and he told the AFC in no uncertain terms that the prerogative of the selection of his running mate, the Prime Ministerial candidate belongs to him ONLY. On the other hand, AFC’s Treasurer, Dominic Gaskin, refuted this statement by his father-in-law and stated that it is AFC’s given right to select the PM according to the Cummingsburg Accord.

But is that Accord itself not subjected to renegotiation? What Gaskin failed to realise is that the old Cummingsburg Accord had come to an end and, therefore, subjected to a new set of negotiations to renew it. Furthermore, the AFC is damaged goods— this was concluded beyond a shadow of a doubt at the last LGE. No other party will want to coalesce with the AFC and without coalescing, there is no AFC. The AFC’s best bet is to continue its subservient alliance with APNU even if this means forgoing the PM’s slot and shedding some ministerial portfolios.

Moreover, Mr Freddie Kissoon even went further when he wrote that, “If the PNC has even an ounce of intellectual fibre, it would kick the AFC into the deep muddy waters of the Atlantic. The AFC cannot bring electoral value to the PNC. Its era has passed.”

The AFC knows this as well and all its grandstanding about going solo again if their demands are not met, is a big bluff and on Monday, when the final agreement was supposed to be ironed out between the AFC and APNU, Granger called the bluff. He held a meeting with all the parties which comprised APNU and wilfully excluded Ramjattan and the AFC.

The AFC’s General Secretary’s repeated “no comment” answers said it all. They are still shell-shocked and in a state of disbelief! Another ultimatum Ramjattan?

The AFC had tried the same bluff at the last LGE and it exposed their ‘dead meat’ status. Ramjattan’s prognostication has borne fruit and suddenly Granger will abide by the Constitution! It is now conclusive that the AFC has no bargaining strength whatsoever and they have now been relegated to the expendables category!

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf