By GHK Lall- The questions are many. The conjectures number more. Together or apart, they cover much territory, burrow deeply. This PPP-PNC development, what’s in it for Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo? What the source, the driving force, behind his epiphany? Is it really for the betterment of the Guyanese people? Or, is more about power? I sidestep the power of the purse.
I start with the familiar. Vice President Jagdeo does nothing for nothing. He is within striking distance of my years, but ambitions still burn brightly. Thwarted before, they burn brighter now; more fiercely. He has control of the millions. In foreign currency, virtually unlimited. So, assets are available to make ambitions possible.
For its part, the PNC has given subtle signs that it is ready and willing. Guyanese will discover who is who and what leads where. Of this one aspect be assured: I think the days of WIN are numbered. Regrettable, but undeniably real. For a PPP-PNC Axis threatens that kind of extinction. The people may still get to decide. They have that say in their hands.
Dr. Jagdeo, with his most persuasive smile affixed, said it is for the people. Those who were forced to travel light and head for the bright lights. Paycheck and standards and living like, well, people. And, he said, for those who are here, and should get a better share. Under the Jagdeo Provisions, I am due two shares. One for having left; another for coming back. My only business is the people’s business.
Jagdeo knows this very well, but didn’t want to hear any of it. PPP haters seek to topple the party and its powers. Now he’s all love: PPP-PNC. It’s time for revision, adjustment, change, enhancement. By God! This is glorious. He just left Attorney General Anil Nandlall with nothing to do. A reformed Jagdeo puts an end to the need for Constitutional Reform. Officially terminates that PPP patented farce.
There’s a wrinkle. Recall that line about ‘the best laid plans of mice and men.’ It applies just as well in Guyana, and in both the PPP and PNC. The wrinkle is that Dr. Jagdeo’s ambition is also Dr. Ali’s ambition. The former has the vintage blends of experience (assuredly to Guyana’s detriment) under his belt; the latter has all the recklessness (national damages) of callow youth inseparable from his name, his record.
The PPP-PNC alliance banishes all of those negatives; makes many out-of-reach areas reachable. Who takes precedence? How will this play out? The PNC has the best seat, but by then it’s too late. Good for PNC prospects; terrible and intolerable for the Guyanese people. I am including the masses of poor Guyanese. They still count, don’t they?
So, what’s more in it for Bharrat Jagdeo, this wiliest of wily political operators? Cheddi Jagan taught him. Janet Jagan groomed him. Ramotar and Rohee reinforced him. The Commies at Patrice Lumumba drilled him. Control. Total control. Absolute power and absolute authority. Thus, the fires burn at fever pitch.
But there he was. Cool as a cobra, and Robert Corbin’s body not even cold yet. Pres Ali let the cat out of the bag. The business that Robert Corbin started needs finishing. What kind of business? Father, forgive those who know not what they say, do. The plague of flies they let loose.
I believe that what’s in this PPP-PNC bonding is the achievement of a lifelong dream. A lifetime appointment. Jagdeo just laid the first stone in that building at the Robert Corbin memorial. I have a recommendation. Instead of ole and stale PPP-PNC, the advice is to rename this fusion party The Robert Corbin Brotherhood.
If offensive to the women in both parties (my apologies), then the Robert Corbin Association works just as well, may even be grander. The mystery, alongside its magnificence, is who would ever have believed that anyone in the PPP had such a high regard for any PNC luminary! Especially Mr. Robert Herman Orlando Corbin.
I stay one last time with the same question: this PPP-PNC fraternity-sorority: what’s in it for Jagdeo? Everything, it seems. Including paradise regained. Plus, the PNC well set inside it. This is why Guyana is so beloved! Finally, there is understanding.
