IN a country where there is a paucity of managerial capacity, it is a shock to many that Dharamkumar Seeraj, ‘General Secretary’ of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA) has been left out of the current Cabinet. Seeraj has proven his leadership capabilities and his commitment to the public good in myriads of ways – not least in the Agriculture Sector and especially in his capacity as GS of the RPA, in advancing the Rice Industry in Guyana.
He has almost single-handedly transformed the RPA from a one-room operation in the Gimpex building, which was burnt to the ground just as Seeraj had acquired the hi-tech equipment to begin the transformative process of modernizing the organization into the dynamic, hi-tech entity that it is today, with  adjunctive facilities to benefit rice farmers at primary rice-producing locations countrywide.
Under his watch, the RPA has expanded his Regional and International linkage which has served in no small measure to boost Guyana’s rice and other sectoral trade.
His input has been integral to formulating empowerment, educational and production methodology policies and to driving protective and strengthening legislation, through amendment to the Rice Act, so as to boost the Rice Sector.
His commitment to the National good, generally; and the welfare of farmers, specifically knows no limit, and this has been proven time and again during critical situations, for instance during floods, when he has left his home at all hours and driven long distances to help persons in trouble.
He champions the vulnerable (he has been my knight in shining armour on many occasions).
His ‘knowledge base’ and powers of recall are phenomenal and he is my go-to person for instant information when I have killer deadlines.
Over and above all, which in my estimation is the true hallmark of greatness; he still retains approachability, his humility, and innate honesty, his compassion for the less privilege, and his grounding with the ordinary people.
I have known Seeraj since he was a brilliant young boy who impressed me greatly with his extensive knowledge of the farming world, and of every dynamic in the national and international landscape. He was the only person I remembered as I travelled around the country with then RPA General Secretary Fazil Ali, because his resistive memory and his analytic ability impacted tremendously as he was the only one who could coherently answer my endless questions to my satisfaction.
I watched him evolve over the years into a model husband and father, and a very responsibile citizen of this land with a highly-developed sense of right and wrong and the strength of character to stand by what he perceives to be right, even if he attract negative consequences in so doing. 
I do not only know him professionally, but he has also been my neighbour for several years and I can say, with absolute confidence, that he replicates every ideal inherent in the late Dr Cheddi Jagan.
He never bears ill-will even to those who have tried to harm him, and adopts no protective mechanism that will result in his alienation from the common man, even those who wish him ill and attempt to defame and/or harm him and the organization that he heads.
I believe that the administrative construct of the PPP government is depriving itself of immense leadership skills by its rejection of Seeraj. As the logical Ministry of Agriculture has already been re-assigned elsewhere, I advance passionate advocacy that Dharamkumar Seeraj be given the portfolio of the Minister of Trade and Industry, where I am absolutely convinced he will continue his meritorious service to the nation with his trademark efficacy, efficiency, and distinction in endeavour and achievement.