Guyana is not unique in its system of adversarial politics. In fact, Guyana shares with most democratic countries an elected legislature to which competing parties seek membership. The extent of that membership depends on the votes received by political parties in elections. Each political party at these elections seek to persuade the electorate that it […]
Author Archives: Ralph Ramkarran
ON SPEAKING OUT
Leaders of the PPP are accused from time to time of not speaking out. Both Emile Mervin and Frederick Kissoon, prolific commentators, so accused me recently. All organisations have rules. When you join one you agree to subscribe to its rules. There is no other basis on which an organisation can function. I chose to be a part of the PPP and to abide by its rule against public criticism.
Very often members of organisations have differences with proposed decisions. When these differences are on a fundamental principle, then the member is expected to resign. However, once members have a common purpose, differences not on fundamental principle are usually resolved. This sometimes happens when the members whose views are not supported, accept the decision and continue to work for the common purpose. Leaders of the PPP, like other organisations, do not always agree with all of its decisions. After debate, the minority invariably chooses to accept the majority view and work together for its implementation.
The PPP and its government stand for many things. These include the elimination of corruption, transparency and an end to discrimination. Many measures have been implemented to deal with th
TACKLING EXTREME POVERTY
The first of the eight Millenium Development Goals is to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.” The quantifiable targets of this goal, to be achieved by 2015, is to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day; to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including […]
CONSPIRACY AGAINST NEW YORK
The conspiracy by three Guyanese, Russell De Freitas, Abdul Kadir and Abdel Nur, who had already pleaded guilty, and one Trinidadian, Kareem Ibrahim, yet to be tried, of plotting to blow up the fuel lines at Kennedy Airport has shocked Guyanese here and overseas, including in the US. Its intention was to unleash a series […]
THE MANDELA FORMULA
The world recently celebrated the 92nd birthday of Nelson Mandela. The PPP commemorated the occasion by a public event at the National Library. The continued presence of Nelson Mandela among us is a source of inspiration to those who treasure forgiveness and reconciliation. The dismantling of apartheid in South Africa necessitated a transitional arrangement of […]