Confusion reigns in the AFC, as…

Nagamootoo and Ramjattan contradict each other during Budget debate in the National AssemblyOLD Kai does not find it surprising that there is a mass exodus from the AFC because of the incompetence of their leadership.

These people are fighting to manage an entire country when they are clearly incapable of managing their small political set-up. So you can imagine how interesting it sounded when Khemraj Ramjattan stood up in the National Assembly and put himself up on a stool as a paragon of accountability, when it is a lack of accountability by the AFC leader and his clique which has caused so many to abandon ship recently.
This individual never has anything meaningful to contribute to public discussion, which is why he always resorts to conjuring up wild scenarios and a handful of innuendoes. He presents absolutely no proof of his contentions, but, being reckless, is a trademark of the current opposition in Guyana.

According to the media, Prak-a-lak questioned, ‘why the migration level is increasing when the Government speaks of life improving since it took office in 1992.’ This is the kind of absurd logic we have come to expect from the leadership of the AFC, as everyone else except Ramjattan is aware that migration is a historical and worldwide phenomenon. The United States of America is probably the most developed nation in the world; and while we have citizens migrating there for better opportunities, it is also a fact that citizens from that country are returning back to these shores. If Ramjattan and colleagues had not walked out of Parliament when the Minister of Education was addressing the house, they would also have learnt that our teachers who left Guyana in search of better opportunities overseas are returning and looking to be re-employed. Countless other Guyanese are also doing the same.
One would expect Ramjattan to know this as we are informed that ‘flour-man’ Sasenarine Singh, in quitting the AFC, had also informed the party that he is keen to return to Guyana ‘sooner rather than later.’
So Ramjattan trying to make light of our nation’s development since 1992, including the years when Dr. Jagan was at the helm of our country, is an eye-opener for many. Prak-a-lak and Moses would travel up to Berbice and shed crocodile tears on the television, singing praises to the legacy of Dr. Jagan; but here it is, they are now denying the achievements and foundation laid for our country by the father of our nation.
The AFC leader then focused his attacks against foreign investments in Guyana as he contended that “the current exemptions and concessions granted to foreign investors are excessive.”
At the same time, his partner Moses cried during his presentation about ‘unemployment’.
So while Ramjattan is attacking foreign investors who, through their investmens, will create more jobs for our people, Moses, on the other hand, is crying about the unemployment rate. Such is the nature of the politicians we are dealing with in the Opposition.
Moses then uses, as the basis for his arguments, a dubious report which stated that “Guyana’s unemployment rate in 2011 was the same as 1980 of 20%”.
For Moses to part ways with his conscience and close his eyes to the development all around him, and now argue that unemployment today is the same as it was when Guyana was described as ‘hopeless and workers breadless’ during that dark era, is rather disgraceful on his part.
On an academic basis, his argument defies logic (no surprise there) as economists will tell you that real GDP economic growth eats away at unemployment as there is an inverse relationship. Guyana has experienced some seven to eight years of consistent economic growth, an unprecedented feat in our history, yet Moses stands in the National Assembly with a straight face and tells us ‘unemployment figures are the same as 1980’.
No wonder the PPP described it as ‘good riddance’ when Moses announced he was leaving the party to join the AFC. Guyanese are now seeing the true colors of this man; no longer can he hide behind the coat-tails of the ruling party and pretend to be a victim and a voice of reason who is being wronged.
This is the kind of incompetent reasoning which led to his many disagreements with other PPP leaders when he was part of the party.
For Moses to stand up with Khemraj in the National Assembly and deny not just the contributions and progress made by our current crop of leaders, but equally important, that of Dr. Cheddi and Janet Jagan, is a grave injustice to their legacies; more so from a man who once touted himself as a disciple of Dr. Jagan.
Let us also remember that this is the very Moses who stood and supported his colleague Ramjattan when they told workers who were going to be laid off because of their budget cuts in 2012 that they were simply ‘collateral damage’.
Yet, two years later, he apparently is of the opinion that we have forgotten the actions of himself and his party clique, and he now wants us to believe him when he cries about a “betrayal of our working people, especially the educated, jobless youth of Guyana.”
The more they open their mouths, the more they continue to sink themselves as they cannot escape from their track record.
Their significant drop in public support, as found in a recent opinion poll, where they are now hovering in a lower single digit number, and the fact that they continue to lose support, are signs that Guyanese have finally seen their sinister agenda and will not fall for their misleading information any longer.