Rohee elected PPP General Secretary

– “I have full confidence in him that he will do a good job” – Ramotar .

By Michael Younge –

Long standing People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP) member Clement Rohee was unanimously elected to serve as the party’s fourth general secretary when its recently installed 35-member central committee met on Monday to renew its leadership team.
Rohee won the committee’s support after incumbent secretary President Donald Ramotar declined re-election and backed his candidacy for the helm of the party, explaining that he was unable to bear the burden of managing the affairs of the country and the party simultaneously.

Ramotar stated that since he became president on December 3, 2011, “the task of managing the party had become extremely overwhelming”, and he was no longer in a position to give his full attention to party matters. He said he was cognisant of the need for the party to be given the necessary leadership and management to ensure that it remains viable, strong and vibrant to take on the challenges which could confront it in the short term and the long term.
Stalwart
“I have every confidence that Comrade Rohee will do a good job. I have known him for most of my political life and we grew up in the PYO together. I know his ability… and I believe the PPP is in extremely capable hands,” President Ramotar told a late afternoon media conference at the party’s Robb Street headquarters.
He said he remained a member of the party’s central executive committee and will retain his member on every standing committee of the party as he is entitled to do. Ramotar was the party’s third general secretary and assumed the post in 1997. His predecessors are former Presidents Janet Jagan and Cheddi Jagan in that order.
Rohee joined the PPP in 1967 and was the party’s executive secretary until 1992 when he became the foreign affairs minister.
Before that, Rohee was also the party’s international secretary and held other portfolios under the leadership of the Jagans.
In his maiden address as the new PPP general secretary, Rohee said he was “humbled” by the decision of his comrades. He stressed that the task of managing the party was a “heavy responsibility”, which would require the collective efforts of all of its leaders in moving forward.
He also gave the undertaking to work assiduously towards restoring more vibrancy within the ranks of the party, while ensuring that the new policies are “implemented smoothly”.
Asked whether he would be resigning or stepping down as home affairs minister, Rohee said “not in the immediate future”. He also said that that would be something for the president to decide on and “something that will have to obviously be looked at sometime down the line”.
At the press conference, Ramotar said that the party will come up with its own timeline as to when it would make its decisions on this matter. However, there was no conflict of interest on this matter, according to party officials.
New executive
The central committee also elected a new executive, which includes Donald Ramotar, Dr Roger Luncheon, Zulfikar Mustapha, Gail Teixeira, Alli Baksh, Bharrat Jagdeo, Bheri Ramsaran, Mohammed Irfaan Ali, Navin Chandarpal, Komal Chand, Robert Persaud, Dr Frank Anthony, Clinton Collymore, Pauline Sukhai, and Kellawan Lall.
Those persons who are not returning to the party’s executive committee for various reasons are: Harripersaud Nokta; Janet Jagan (deceased); Reepu Daman-Persaud (deceased); Ralph Ramkarran; and Ulric Ramanah. Three persons were also elected as candidate members. They are Shyam Nokta, Neil Kumar, and Dharamkumar Seeraj.
A new secretariat was also established with Zulfikar Mustapha being re-elected as the executive and organising secretary.
Clement Rohee will be responsible for membership, Kellawan Lall for propaganda, Komal Chand for trade unions, Hydar Ally for education, Seeraj for mass organisation, Gail Teixeira for international affairs, and Irfaan Ali for finance.
Additionally, Lall was elected as the editor of the party’s organ, the ‘Thunder’.