…says even though a highly-respected scholar, he has failed as a minister
Outspoken political and social commentator Ramon Gaskin has said the time has come for Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine to step down from Government and allow for a more competent individual to take over his position. Gaskin’s rationale is that Dr
Dr Rupert Roopnaraine
Roopnaraine’s performance as a minister has been “extremely poor”.
Conceding that Dr Roopnaraine is the most highly educated person in the Cabinet, Gaskin says his extremely poor performance has in many ways outweighed his academic achievements. Dr Roopnaraine is a highly-respected Guyanese scholar who was educated at both the University of Cambridge and Cornell University.
“He has been a total failure as a minister. He is a bright person, he has written a lot, he is academically accomplished, but he has failed as a Minister. And he should be replaced of course,” is Gaskin’s expressed opinion.
The outspoken social commentator believes that Dr Roopnaraine had realised he was not performing, and that may have been the chief reason why he had submitted his resignation to President David Granger. However, the President later talked Dr Roopnaraine out of resigning, and he rescinded his resignation a few days later.
Gaskin said, “The President doesn’t want him to go, although he demoted him (Dr Roopnaraine) to a senior clerk in State Minister Joseph Harmon’s ministry. Granger must have encouraged him to stay on because it wasn’t looking good. This is although his party, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), might have had different views. But the man actually does nothing.”
Executive members of the WPA were recently asked at a press conference
Political and social commentator Ramon Gaskin
whether they believe the President had refused to accept Dr Roopnaraine’s resignation because the President was afraid that Dr Roopnaraine would have been replaced by a more radical-thinking candidate.
Gaskin is of the opinion that this might have been one of the reasons. “Granger, in his mind, must have said that if Rupert did go and he needed to put somebody there to replace him, then he (Granger) might have ended up with someone whom he (Granger) is not comfortable with.”
And that argument could be true, according to Gaskin, because, over the years, the public had seen how Dr Roopnaraine and the President had become close, and worked well together as a team despite their different political ideologies.
But Gaskin told Guyana Times that if Dr Roopnaraine were to take advice and step down from Government, the next WPA candidate would have become as comfortable working with the President as Dr Roopnaraine presently is.
“Once you go there you get just as comfortable; because the perks are nice, the ambience, the environment is conducive, and you get a new Prado. So everything becomes relaxing,” he explained.
Gaskin is also convinced that the sudden meeting that was called by the constituent parties of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was meant to address the Dr Roopnaraine issue — nothing more nor less. He said what is even more embarrassing is that he has never heard of a WPA congress.
Gaskin is of the firm view that the APNU meetings, if there are any other going forward, would not produce any success, because there still remain several major differences among parties within the coalition, and that is not an issue that could be ironed out easily.
It was announced on June 13, 2017 that Dr Roopnaraine would be removed from his post as Education Minister and reassigned to head the Department of Public Service within the Ministry of the Presidency. While no reason for this relocation was given, many had speculated that it had to do with Dr Roopnaraine’s deteriorating health.
However, some days after being reassigned, the senior minister refuted those claims and said “nothing” was wrong with his health. Most recently, the minister defended his decision to remain in office and Government. He has made this clear: “I’m not at death’s door”, and assured that he is in perfect form and order to undertake the responsibilities of his new portfolio — Minister of Public Service.
Dr Roopnaraine, one of the longest-serving WPA members, has served as one of the leaders of that party, along with founder Dr Walter Rodney, Dr Clive Thomas and Eusi Kwayana. Despite the ongoing issue, the party has said it would continue to support him as their candidate in Government.
