As the election season comes to a climax, I see a great many declarations for one political party or the next. While I respect the right of every citizen to declare his particular political choice, I also recognise and exercise the right to retain the privacy of my political choice. The argument can be made that you should have the courage to express your conviction, but in my case, my conviction has always been that I stand committed to serve my country whatever political administration is in power. The recollection of events that follow are specific in nature and are intended for just this reason, I believe it will show that I have and always will be bipartisan when it comes to the political arena.

What I have to offer is the engagement I’ve had with successive political leaders, going back to my teenage years. It began in the early 1980s –

I was head boy at my school when at the time it was adopted by HE LFS Burnham. It so happened at the first and only graduation he attended after adopting the school, he gave a speech. They were three speakers that day, the opening remarks were made by the Head Master, followed by myself and then of course the President. After my presentation, he went on stage and opened by paying me the compliment he had difficulty determining who the real headmaster was. As you can imagine, as a teenager at the time hearing such praise from your President spoke volumes. I was then placed in charge of managing a farm at the school.

Years after, when I had become a staffer at Gaibank, I served on two state boards under HE President Desmond Hoyte. It so happened that I was approached to be a member of his party leading up to the 1992 elections. As history would show, I did not accept the position. Incidentally, I believe that one of the individuals who had approached me at the time is now an Academia in New York where he lectures at one of the Universities.

Why I did not accept is simply because of the same position I’ve always held. I prefer to serve my country as a technocrat and to the best of my abilities. In passing I would like to state that HE Comrade Desmond Hoyte was an honoured guest at my wedding.

I didn’t know HE Dr. Cheddi Jagan well, but I remember that he graced us with his presence at one time at the Gaibank Sports Club’s classical music evenings (HE had agreed to be Patron of this event), when I was President of the Club.

My longest professional engagement with any president was under former President, HE Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. I remember when he was the newly appointed Junior Minister of Finance, I was part of the senior staff at Gaibank and a member of the BOD. Our initial engagements were not mutually agreeable to put it mildly. It started out that way, because at the time I was fighting to ensure that the staff members at Gaibank were given a proper severance package in light of the fact that the entity was closing down.

I continued to serve the Government as part of my scholarship’s contractual agreement and to my surprise after his ascension to Minister of Finance (Snr.) I received a call to meet with him and was asked remain with the GNCB when my contract ended.

In the years to follow, particularly after he became President, I was appointed to several state boards, and managed an agency which dealt with all foreign loans and grants within the Health Sector, managing the first Debt Recovery in Guyana on a part time basis since I was still a staff member of an International Agency. I would not say that President Jagdeo and I became friends, but we shared a cordial and mutually respectful professional relationship which lasted throughout his tenure.

Without negating or otherwise seeking to counter the image that persons might have of the former President, I humbly offer my own experience as a professional with him. In my experience working with him, I observed him to be a person and president who was always keen on pushing for the development of Guyana and it didn’t hurt that he possessed a great deal of knowledge in that regard and on matters of the state. The times when we did not agree on an issue, we would take a few days off and then return to it for a resolution. There, is the image of HE Dr. Jagdeo as a great micromanager, but that was not my personal experience – once a task was assigned – the only thing he expected was a result within the required time. When you work for Dr. Jagdeo, once you achieve results, there is ZERO interference.
My relationship with Donald Ramotar, which preceded his becoming President, was closer to a friendship. When he was elected, as I have done with every significant change of administration going back to 1992, I formally resigned all my public service posts. This wasn’t a case of “Playing dead to see what funeral you would have”, I did this to give every new Government the opportunity to select board members and senior officials based on the criteria they sought fit. It so happened that he rejected my resignations and as such I continued to serve of the positions I held at time.

What I’ve admired about President Ramotar is the keen interest and enthusiasm he shows in reducing poverty in this country and pushing the Development of Guyana like his predecessor.

From the first time I entered my professional life, my sole commitment has been to serve the country of Guyana to the best of my ability. I don’t believe that this is something that is unique to me and I know it is a quality that is shared by persons from both sides of the political divide. Regardless of where my vote goes, no single side has a complete monopoly on patriotism.

In closing, I wish to state that I’m really hopeful that those parties and the Guyanese public is acceptant of the winner, since I believe doing otherwise would be a step in the wrong direction. It is also my hope that observers can be stationed at each polling station, whereby making the process as free and as fair as possible.

That said, I’d like to wish my friend Donald Ramotar well in his bid for re-election to the Presidency.

KEITH BURROWES