THE People’s Progressive Party / Civic (PPP/C) yesterday afforded representatives of the media the opportunity to interact with new members of the Party whose names appeared on the Top-Up List of candidates for the upcoming May 11 general and regional elections in Guyana.At a press conference at the party’s Freedom House headquarters, PPP/C’s Executive Secretary Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha introduced five of the new candidates on the List to media operatives. They are: Dr. Telita Smith, Dr. Vishalya Sharma, Dr. Mahender Sharma, Ms. Vanessa Benn and Dr. Clive Jagan.

Speaking first as a youth who has accomplished so much under this Government, Dr. Telita Smith said she is 26 years old and a medical doctor based at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). She noted that she joined the PPP/C because “I wanted to be ‘a soldier’ and to continue to promote the development within the country.”
Medical Superintendent at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, Dr. Vishalya Sharma said she joined the PPP list “because I see strategic leadership, a good vision as well as a dynamic set of youths who are ready to take Guyana forward.”
Dr. Mahender Sharma, the Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), said he believes that the developmental agenda which the PPP/C has pursued over the last two plus decades is quite impressive. “It’s a developmental agenda that I want to be a part of… having worked with the administration for the last 17 years, I can attest to the manner in which they do business and I find that to be honourable and respectful in every engagement that I’ve had with them,” Dr. Sharma commented.

Dr. Sharma, who is the son of controversial television owner and politician Mr. Chandra Narine (CN) Sharma, dismissed the assertion that there is a “conflict of interest” with him being the Head of a State Agency (GEA) and also being on the PPP/C candidates List.

“Resigning from office? The way I read that article, it appeared as if Stabroek News inserted my name in that article, as nothing in the GEA Act precludes me from being a member of a political party and serving as the CEO of the agency,” Dr. Sharma stressed as he put the question of his resignation from GEA to rest.

Ms. Vanessa Benn, an Agriculture and Forestry Specialist, said she is “very proud” to be on the PPP/C’s candidates List. She noted that in 1992 “the PPP/C went on a charge ‘time to rebuild, time to change’. We are rebuilding and making changes in Guyana in a very positive way. We have been doing that for 23 years now and I believe that, with the positive vision and work of the PPP/C, we will continue in this positive direction.”

Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s nephew, Dr. Clive Jagan, who is also on the PPP/C’s Top-Up List of candidates, declared that: “I have been a part of the PPP/C since 1985, but now I still see that the PPP is the party that would take us forward with proper development of our nation, the only party that has democracy at heart and freedom of our people to exercise their right to vote.”

Dr. Jagan, responding to the question whether the PPP/C has moved away from the principles of his iconic uncle, explained that the “media seems to be biased” during elections time, a period dubbed as ‘the silly season’.
“In terms of moving away from his (Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s) principles I don’t agree because I’ve seen development…presumptions are made that they are moving away but there has been no valid proof that the Opposition or anyone has come out to say that the PPP/C has moved away,” Dr. Clive Jagan declared.
He further explained that “they (PPP/C) still stand for the same policies, democracy, progress, freedom of the press and anything else”. He alluded to the fact that “prior to 1992, you would have been locked up for saying anything out of the way. So I don’t believe that the party has moved away from the principles of Cheddi.”
“In terms of inclusion, even when the ‘old man’ came into power in 1992, he believed in inclusion and he started with the City Council in terms of shared governance,” Clive pointed out.
He noted, too, that some trust needs to be established before persons can go any further and the political Opposition has not changed its attitude to the PPP. “They have had an antagonistic relationship with the PPP/C” for a very long time, Dr. Jagan said, adding that “lifestyles have changed, time has changed and people have achieved more.”

By Rebecca Ganesh