Former Executive Member of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Dr Veerasammy Ramayya, has now thrown his support behind the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) because he believes they have the best plan for the working class people.
Dr Ramayya made his position known shortly after the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, urged a welcoming hand for disgruntled supporters of the coalition Government.
Dr Veerasammy Ramayya
In a telephone interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday, Dr Ramayya maintained that he is an independent politician but has endorsed the current vision of the PPP despite having criticised some of their actions in the past.
He explained that the coalition Government, which he had endorsed in the lead up to the historic 2015 General Elections, is driving the economy into the ground and making it increasingly challenging to enjoy a decent life.
The politician said he stands with and for the working class people, and will support whichever group he believes has the best plan for them.
“What we have worked for in this coalition, we did not get. The question here, we have to look at the sugar industry, the rice industry and the Government, these people when they campaigned for 2015 elections, did they indicate to the people that they will close down the estates? That they will not get markets for the rice? That the economy will be in such a bad state today,” he related, as he expressed disappointment and disgust over the current state of the country.
“So we are having very difficult times, all throughout Berbice area right now, this is what my goals were how we can alleviate the conditions of poor people and currently now we are not doing that. They can’t find jobs for the young people, they are telling young people now that they can go make plantain chips and cassava chips and all these things and make a living,” he stated with much ridicule.
Dr Ramayya said he has been listening keenly to the leaders of the PPP and has been observing the reform of the political party, and is impressed with the improvements.
“Putting everything into perspective, I think the PPP has projected a better life for the working class people than what this Government is projecting. And as such, I am throwing a little support with the ideas that they have… I am very, very proud of Bharrat Jagdeo, I am very proud,” he exclaimed.
Dr Ramayya said he stands by the criticisms he has meted out against the party in the past but noted that its leaders have also accepted their shortcomings.
In spite of his support, Dr Ramayya said he will not hastily join the PPP.
“The time 2020 is far away from now, so I don’t know (if I will join) but I am still working assiduously to help as far as I am concerned the working class people,” the politician explained, noting that many people are already upset with him for being part and parcel of the political force that brought more hardships upon them.
“People in Berbice are crying out. I just came from New Amsterdam and business is completely dead, everybody’s cursing me. They’re saying that Dr Ramayya ‘you are the one we voted for and this is what is happening.’ I am taking the curses that is coming down. People didn’t vote because of Moses (Nagamootoo) or Khemraj (Ramjattan), they voted for me. I am the core of the AFC. But I walked out because of corruption,” he expressed.
Dr Ramayya, a prominent figure in Berbice, began his political career in the 1960s.
After declaring that Berbicians were not adequately represented in the coalition Government, Dr Ramayya resigned from the AFC in 2015. However, after being offered the post of Regional Executive Officer (REO), he remained with the party.
He subsequently resigned “for good” from the AFC in September 2016 after he “got tired” with the “corruption” within the party.
