PRESIDENTIAL Candidate and General Secretary of the PPP/C Mr. Donald Ramotar has dedicated his entire life’s struggle to bring freedom to Guyana and has continued to fight to maintain this  freedom. His Excellency, President Bharrat Jagdeo made this declaration yesterday as he addressed the opening of Impress Youth Conference and Expo at the Guyana International Conference Center (GICC).
President Jagdeo was at the time emphasizing Ramotar’s suitability for the role as the future President of Guyana.
In explaining, he said, “He (Donald Ramotar) brings to this table a track record of fighting for freedom; people who fight for freedom have a special quality, they always will maintain freedom because they understand the value of freedom, they have a humbleness that he has that we rarely see…these are two amazing qualities that differentiate him from others who are running for President.”
According to Mr. Jagdeo – the charismatic outgoing Guyanese Head of State, these traits set the PPP/C candidate apart from others including A partnership For National Unity (APNU) leader, Mr. David Granger, whom he said  “aggressively fought to take away those  freedoms” in the past.
In addition, Jagdeo noted that the ability to embrace new ideas is another inherent quality becoming of any future president of this country.
“Donald Ramotar is constantly receptive to new ideas…people, regardless of their age or circumstance, if they can maintain an open mind to new ideas they make good leaders, they are relevant to a new world of changing paradigms; contrast this with the opposition speakers. Not a single one of them has defined how they want to see Guyana run in the future,” President Jagdeo told the large gathering of mostly youths.
To expound on this point, the President noted that APNU leader, David Granger said he intended to reintroduce National Service, if elected as President.
But President Jagdeo acknowledged that while National Service has its values, he does not want Guyanese youths to have National Service as their future.
“His (Granger) idea is that when we have issues with young people, send them off into the interior, put some boots on them and have them march. (But) our idea is to give young people the training and tools to become professionals… Again you see the difference when people are opposed to ideas and newness and they want to go back to the past because they are accustomed to that era,” Mr. Jagdeo pointed out.

Another vital trait which places Mr. Ramotar ahead of the other Presidential Candidates is his economic background and training, the President said.

This is important in a world where the understanding of economic trends is crucial to economic sustainability and growth, given the turmoil in financial markets today.

He said, “Guyana has to sell into these markets to keep prosperity growing, someone who can craft an appropriate national strategy for ensuring that we keep building homes and that every family owns a plot of land, that’s our goal. This Guyanese dream is happening, it was unheard of in the past.”

President Jagdeo also declared his confidence that the progress witnessed under the leadership of the PPP/C will continue under Donald Ramotar’s leadership. He noted that Ramotar has managed the ruling PPP/C party in this country for over 13 years and has the experience required to take this country to even greater heights in the future.
In closing, Mr. Jagdeo urged the Guyanese youths to make their assessments based on these important qualities during the upcoming elections.
“Some parties have different messages. The Alliance for Change (AFC) has a way of going to different parts of the country to try to divide along racial lines, the PPP has one message for all of our people because we do not play the ethnic game, all of our people are important to us…this is about our future, of continuing along the path that brings people together and keep our country moving,” the President posited.