…seeks not material gain nor moral high ground
SON of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Cheddi Jagan Jr, yesterday, declared his support for the Civic component of the PPP/C and said that he will continue the vision of his father by providing critical support to the ruling party. “I am today endorsing the PPP/Civic and Mr. Ramotar for the November 28 general elections, and I have been placed on the list for the PPP/Civic slate,” he said, speaking at a press conference at the PPP/C’s media Centre at Freedom House.
Jagan acknowledged that over the years he has been a vocal critic of this administration, “but on occasions I have praised certain paths of progress which this government and party have followed.”
He said that he has always written and spoken “from the heart.” He said, “I can tell the Guyanese people that hope is alive and well in this party my great father built and nurtured throughout his illustrious life, and that is what brought me back home.”
He said that he stands by most of what he said in his writings, interviews and “just plain talk with you on the streets.”
“I still believe in loving each other, (regardless of one’s race, gender or religion), I still believe in unity of the Guyanese people, where there will be a real sharing of the whole pie, I still believe in total freedom of the press, one of the most important pillars of a true democracy,” he said.
He said that he still believes in the concept of the tri-sectoral economy, where the private sector should be the engine of growth. He stressed too that he believes in workers’ rights and good pay to make their lives better. “I still believe in you, the regular men and women who work hard and struggle for a better life,” said ‘Joey’.
“I am entering the CIVIC component of the PPP/C and I am taking the position akin to that of my father who coined the famous words ‘critical support’; my father, President Cheddi, always told me to take the negatives and compare them to the positives and weigh the subjective and objective factors when you approach political hurdles, and that is what I did and what I came up with is that Donald Ramotar and PPP/C is really the only way I can make a contribution to the betterment of this country, because only in this context can my father’s legacy be carried on,” he said.
“I am not interested in power, I am more interested in conscience; and I feel that I can add to the humility, conscience and incorruptibility which Cheddi Jagan set out as the cornerstone of the PPP/Civic. That is why I seek no position, no material gain, nor no moral high ground. I am just coming home to ensure President Cheddi’s legacy. My father’s dream was to build a strong Civic in order to juxtapose different viewpoints and answers, and to attract all those who support a common goal but do not want to join the PPP directly,” he said.
Jagan made the point that the Civic component should be forceful, supportive and have a real say in the affairs of the country. “That was his dream, and we have to make it a reality. Mr. Ramotar has promised he will be open to all those who are underprivileged and disadvantaged, and he has promised to enact real changes in our dear country,” said Jagan.
He called Ramotar “a son of the soil” and “a seasoned and tireless worker” for the benefit of the Guyanese people.
“As President, he will be fair and open to all Guyanese. That he has pledged to me,” said Jagan.
He noted that Ramotar stood by his father “through thick and thin”; and as President, “he will stand by the citizens of Guyana through thick and thin, that he has pledged to me,” Jagan said.