Red House should have been gifted to Jagan Centre

Dear Editor,
The PPP is its own worst enemy when it comes to looking after the interests of its supporters and protecting the legacy of the party’s iconic leaders. It is because of PPP’s many blunders while in Government that today the PNC could eject, without worrying about the consequences, the Dr Cheddi Jagan Research Centre from a public property leased by the NGO (of same name) to host the Jagans’ papers.
Red House should have been gifted to the Jagan Centre because of his enormous contributions to the nation. He gave his entire life and earnings to the country. What is a building in return for those contributions? It would never be enough to repay the Jagans for their complimentary work on behalf of the nation.
The PNC is seeking to tarnish the legacy of the Jagans and unfortunately will get away with it. Had the PPP done the right thing when in office, the centre would not have found itself in the predicament it is in today – without a proper home.
This is not a party that takes advice from experts and scholars on how to do things right that would have long-term positive effects on its supporters and the party itself. Instead, it does things haphazardly and without serious intellectual discussion from independent figures – that is why it lost its majority in 2011 and toppled by the US in May 2015.
Had the party done the right thing and gave the sugar workers GuySuCo land, the industry would have been prosperous and workers still on the job. Instead, the PNC has removed the PPP from office and is dismantling GuySuCo and rewarding its supporters and financiers with the land. The PPP did not want its supporters to become a kulak class.
Well, the PPP supporters are increasingly becoming a jobless, homeless and landless class today. The PPP needs to learn from its errors. The PNC, in and out of office, looks after the interests of its supporters; PPP should have done same. And AFC should have followed suit.
The AFC brought its 11 per cent (from Indians) to put PNC into Government. So AFC should insist that the Indians get their fair share, including retaining the Red House as the Jagan Centre.
A property should have been gifted by the PPP Government to the Jagan Foundation to house the papers of the Jagans and the PPP freedom fighters and staffed at taxpayers’ expenses. The Red House would have been ideal for such a venture.
It should have been gifted, not leased, similar to how Jagdeo gifted five acres of prime land for the Burnham foundation at the national park. The Burnham family sold the land and pocketed the proceeds. Now they want the Jagan building (Red House) to host Burnham and Hoyte papers. No one would have opposed a Jagan Centre, comprising of individuals from the private sector, Jagan’s party, and scholars from abroad as well as at home.

The Jagan Centre would have got broad-based support and international funding. The Jagan Centre should have been a non-partisan research institute welcoming scholars and students from everywhere.
Instead, the Centre was packed with party hacks, making it appear like a party affair.
This has made it a difficult job to defend the Centre. It is all the more an arduous task for independents (those not with PPP) to join the struggle to combat the PNC as it seizes the centre and moves against Jagan’s legacy.

The PNC plans to move against the Jagan’s name of the airport very soon.
Imagine Jagan liberated Guyana and the PNC, WPA and AFC do not see it fit to donate or lease a public property to house Jagan’s papers.
Yet, this same PNC had the audacity to award its members state properties when it was in office. And the WPA and AFC have political eunuchs on the matter.
The PNC’s move to revoke a lawful lease is undemocratic and a violation of judicial norms. Its action must be condemned by all democratic loving people regardless of political ideology. Now is the time for all forces to unite to protect Jagan’s legacy including saving Red House as the depository of the Jagans’ papers.
The PPP did not do the right thing in granting the Jagan Centre the Red House and state funding for its staff.
The PNC-led regime should now do the right thing that the PPP failed to do – gift the centre the property to embarrass the PPP.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram