INCUMBENCY FATIGUE

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Friday, 28th December 2012, 1:27 am

A few people were amused (see last Sunday’s SN cartoon), others intrigued, by the term ‘incumbency fatigue’ which I used at a press conference to explain the reduced vote obtained by the PPP/C at the elections. I cannot recall where I discovered the term but, whether rightly or wrongly used, I meant that some of us – supporters of the PPP – may have been sufficiently tired for no reason other than being in office too long that we could not be bothered to vote.

Everyone has a different take on what was responsible for the decline in PPP support from 54 percent in 2006 to 48 percent in 2012. Many look at the superficial. The reality is that Guyana’s political landscape is changing. It must after twenty years. There are demographic, economic, social and political changes that are deep going and which will continue to affect political outcomes. The PPP must adapt to the changes.

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FULFILLING THE PROMISE

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Thursday, 27th December 2012, 11:10 pm

The founders of Independent Guyana made a solemn promise that they will deliver us from poverty and lead us not into political division. That’s right. The message carried a messianic fervor. At least so it was received.

The large body of the poor and disadvantaged had known that they were exploited. They also knew that until 1950, no one outside of their own class ever took more than a passing interest in their welfare. To be then elevated to the centre of attention, to be told that with the vote they will determine who governs them, to be told that they are the revolutionary class which will determine the future of the country, was heady stuff. It was a completely new experience for them. Also significantly new was the message of ethnic unity, which they were hearing in political, and witnessing in organizational terms, for the first time. They eventually saw the evidence of strength provided by 1953. It imbued them with a sense of pride, purpose and anticipation that has endured throughout the decades.

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SPEECH TO THE THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE FITUG – July 13, 2010

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Thursday, 27th December 2012, 11:05 pm

I should like to thank you for your invitation to deliver opening remarks to this the Third Conference of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana. This acknowledgement from you that I may have something of interest or value to say to the trade union movement, is indeed a great honour.

Among the material I consulted when preparing my remarks, is the speech of Brother Ashton Chase to the first Conference of FITUG in 2006. It is a most enlightening document, reverberating with history. A portion of the speech traces the formation and suspension of FITUG between 1988 and 1993, and its re-establishment in 2003. This history demonstrates that FITUG’s birth and growth were inevitable outcomes of the underlying interplay of politics, workers’ struggles and trade unionism, that have characterised our history as well that of many other Caribbean countries.

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CRISIS IN EUROPE

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Thursday, 27th December 2012, 10:52 pm

A severe financial crisis is threatening Europe. It gets worse by the day. As an indication of how deep the crisis has become, Moody’s Corporation, a world recognized credit rating company, downgraded five German banks on June 6, hitherto regarded as having triple A rating. It has been predicted by financial experts that unless the crisis is resolved in a few weeks the Euro will unravel, financial chaos will ensue and the recession affecting only some countries will spread over Europe and further afield.

There has been little or no discussion in our media or that of the Caribbean on the crisis or its potential impact on our economies. Not only do we have trading relationships with Europe on which many industries rely, but we receive significant inflows in aid and grants from the European Union which can be adversely affected by an escalation of the crisis.

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CREATE A NEW VISION FOR GUYANA – WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR CHAINS

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Thursday, 27th December 2012, 10:50 pm

The rejection by the National Assembly of the re-tabled Supplementary Estimates, rejected previously, elicited headlines, accusations and counter accusations recently. According to statements in the press the Government re-tabled the Estimates because the Opposition had indicated that it was prepared to reconsider them. To its surprise the opposition voted against the Estimates without asking a single question. After the Sitting the Opposition explained that its complaint against the Estimates had been inadequate explanations and that the Estimates were resubmitted with the identical, inadequate, explanations.

The denial of funds to the Office of the President is particularly painful. On one item only, Presidential Advisory (Cabinet and Other Services) of a total of $401,000,000.00 was reduced by $230,000,000.00 to $171,000,000.00. This head includes the staff of the Parliament office who number over one hundred and is not confined to the few advisers who are employed there. Many of them will lose their jobs and the business of the Office of the President will be grievously hampered.

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The Conversation Tree is both physical and philosophical. The physical is the tree itself, which has given its name to the road from which it originates at the intersection of the Rupert Craig Highway. It was reputedly first planted by Napleton William King in 1876 to celebrate the birth of his son Napleton Walter. As...
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