PPP’s 32nd Congress leaves its opponents giddy, confused and clueless

Dear Editor,
Clearly, the PPP’s leaders must be thrilled, because, in many ways, the 32nd Congress ranks as one of the most successful congresses of a political party ever in Guyana’s history. It also is arguably one of the most successful ever in the history of political parties in Caricom. Not only was it the largest ever in Guyana’s history, it is difficult to find another party congress larger anywhere in the Caribbean.
The unity, enthusiasm and confidence that oozed from the congress were not only felt by the members present, not only by the supporters of the PPP in Guyana and in the diaspora, but clearly frustrated and stressed out its opponents. The PNC, AFC, and other political parties took note and became despondent. The many anti-PPP commentators have been stunned into either silence or sunk into the abyss of fault-finding.
At the very beginning of the congress, while clutching for some straw to avoid drowning, the PNC came out with the absurd statement denouncing the use of the Convention Centre and the flying of the PPP’s flags at the Convention Centre. The National Convention Centre, like convention centres in every single country, is used not just for state events. Corporations, other groups, including religious groups, usually rent convention centres to conduct their business or hold mass events. During those events, the organizing groups fly flags, if they have flags, and decorate with their paraphernalia. There is nothing unusual in this.
The PPP, given that its membership has grown and that it anticipated the largest congress ever, looked to find a suitable location, and concluded that the Convention Centre was fit-for-purpose. The PPP’s executive therefore proceeded to rent the convention centre to hold its 32nd Congress. Other political parties could also seek to rent the convention centre. During the period of the rental agreement, the convention centre was sacred ground for the PPP. It was free to fly its flags. It did, and the scenery in and around the convention centre was simply spectacular. The PNC’s denunciation was simply unfounded and disgustingly hypocritical.
When the convention center is being used to host Parliament, the Guyana flag flutters proudly. There has never been a PPP flag flown in its full glory at the convention centre when Parliament is in session. In no public building has the PPP flag ever been flown officially. Given the circumstances wherein the convention centre was rented by the PPP, the party had every right to fly its flag proudly. No law or convention was violated by anything that the PPP did during its 32nd Congress. Those who believe the PPP violated any law should mount a challenge in court.
But if there is an organization that should never make this an issue, it is the PNC. In making this an issue, the PNC merely added to its considerable credential of hypocrisy. But, then again, Burnham’s party carries hypocrisy around as a badge of honour.
This is the party that enshrined party paramountcy as part of its governance. As part of that governance model, the PNC hoisted its flag over state buildings and institutions, such as the Supreme Court of Guyana. Does the PNC think we would ever forget these egregious acts?
This is a party that spent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to paint buildings green, branding Government with the colours of the PNC, even violating the convention of colours for State House when it coloured the State House green. It went so far as to intimidate people to paint their own homes green, and to paint their vehicles green in order to show support.
Public servants were intimidated into wearing green clothes. Certain Government institutions in fact required persons to wear green uniforms. No Guyanese citizen has forgotten this.
But the desperation to find something it can criticize forced Aubrey Norton to make a long statement in which all he could find to criticize about the PPP’s 32nd Congress was that the PPP violated the law. This is the party that is not timid when it comes to ridiculousness, like 32 is greater than 33.
Now one MP, Sherod Duncan from the AFC, alleges that Prime Minister Mark Phillips was sidelined at the Congress. This allegation shows that Duncan is either ignorant or stupid. Either of these possibilities shows that the Opposition is not ready for the big time. The truth is that the PM was not eligible to be on the ballot for delegates to vote for him. The PM is a member of the Civic component of the PPP/C coalition. The PPP has honoured its 1992 contract with the Guyanese people, and a member of the Civic is always the PM candidate for the PPP. Between 1992 and 2015, Sam Hinds held that position, and was the leader of the Civic. Elizabeth Harper occupied that position in 2015. In 2020, Mark Phillips took up the challenge of being the PPP’s nominee for the PM position. He has served, as Sam Hinds did, with distinction, and has become an adored member of the PPP/C Cabinet. At the Congress, PM Phillips had a front seat with President Irfaan Ali and VP and GS Bharrat Jagdeo. Although Congress was for PPP delegates, PM Phillips was welcomed to participate throughout the Congress.
The PNC/APNU/AFC are digging in the proverbial muck to find something they can criticise. The same Duncan shamelessly asked where are the SOPs to show who got what votes during the congress. The PPP’s election went smoothly, and the results were available almost immediately, and were fully published. But the PNC/APNU/ AFC, almost four years later, is still hiding its copies of the SOPs from Election 2020. It is sheer hypocrisy.

The commentators are finding all kinds of muck in order to say something negative. They now are renewing the old, worn-out arguments of “isms” to insist that the PPP has abandoned Cheddi Jagan’s principles and values. For one, they insist that the PPP has abandoned its working-class credentials, something that Cheddi Jagan scrupulously guarded. The 32nd Congress of the PPP, far from it, reiterated and emphasized its working-class ideology and commitment. It is why the PPP has created more than 70,000 jobs since August 2020, put back to work all the sugar and bauxite workers that the PNC/APNU/AFC sent home during 2015-2020, and has increased public servants’ salaries and benefits. It has also increased minimum wages for the private sector, and increased the income tax threshold for all workers in Guyana.
The removal of references in the constitution to Leninism/Marxism/Socialism through a resolution at the 32nd Congress is not a denunciation of socialism. It is aligning better the party’s founding principle of ideological and economic pluralism. The PPP has always maintained that the private sector is the engine of growth in our country. It is the PPP that totally dismantled the PNC’s model of the state in command of the heights of the economy and shifted it to the private sector. While aggressively pursuing the social justice agenda and the working-class credentials of the party, the 32nd Congress sought to bring clarity to its dedication to ideological and economic pluralism.
The truth is that the gathering of delegates from every nook and cranny of our country; people representing all races, all economic grouping, all religious sections of our country, presented a great consternation for the Opposition and the anti-PPP commentators. It has left them confused, and searching for something to find fault.
The truth is that both the political Opposition and the usual suspects, the anti-PPP lunatic fringe, were left scratching their heads and disheartened because what they saw was a harbinger for Election 2025, signalling of the biggest ever political victory in any free and fair election in Guyana. What they saw forced them to acknowledge that the challenge for the Opposition is whether the Opposition can keep the PPP from an electoral victory with more than 36 seats. Congress 32 tells the country and the world that the PPP would emerge with a victory greater than 36 seats.
Burnham is restless in his grave, as he sees that those he left in charge have destroyed his party. Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Boysie Ramkarran, Brindley Benn, Hubbard, Jacobs, Chase, and many others are smiling, proud of what they created, sustained and left. They must be proud of those that carry on, staying faithful to the principles and values they embraced when the PPP was launched on January 1, 1950, but continuously positioning the party to be fit-for-purpose in changing times.

Sincerely,
Dr Leslie Ramsammy