“Big, big war in the PPP”, says Ramjattan, as President Ali lashes out at his predecessor

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Leader of the Alliance for Change and Member of Parliament (MP) Khemraj Ramjattan is of the view that recent public friction between President Irfaan Ali and former President Donald Romotar betrayed appearances by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and exposes internal party conflict to the public.

The PPP campaigned in the 2020 General and Regional Elections on a platform that included negotiating the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) in 2016. The opposition, as they were then, was adamant it could have gotten a better deal but on assuming office, had abandoned the campaign promise. Recently President Ramotar, on a live program via social media, indicated that he would have renegotiated the contract. Shortly after President Ali responded while giving remarks at an event.

“Everybody want the front page now. Some of them had plenty years to change it, but they want the front page now,” came Irfaan’s lash. “The easiest thing to get the front page and say, oh, I support changing the contract,” President Irfaan Ali bellowed in One Guyana anger, at a recent event. “For God heaven’s sake, I wish if it was a better contract. All of us wish that,” the Head of State said.

Ramjattan, on his party’s program, Alliance of the Move, stated, “That is the total hypocrisy of it all. That chap in Parliament, along with Jagdeo, the other jagabat, had so much nonsense to say that how they’re going to renegotiate the contract. Today, Donald felt fooled by him, by what he said in 2017, by the same Jagdeo and him, and Anil Nandlal and all of them who were in the opposition. Then he is now being utterly disrespectful of the former president. Just like how Jagdeo was utterly disrespectful of Janet Jagan.”

Ramjattan, a former member of the PPP himself, said, “Look at the disrespect. What is wrong with the former president giving his opinion on taking and sharing the headlines? Only he, Irfaan Ali, must share the headlines?” The MP said, “The kind of things that they put in the manifesto, ’we will renegotiate this rotten contract that the APNU+AFC signed on to, and all of a sudden today is ‘sanctity of contract’.”

“What crap is he (President Ali) talking?” The former Minister of Public Security said, “He should be respectful of Donald Ramotar, but no. Donald Ramotar is a principled fellow who says, I believe that this thing should be renegotiated, and he obviously knows what he’s saying. In Guyana, I still feel that we have a democracy and especially an important person like Donald Ramotar. He ought to have had his say.”