NTA voters about better governance

THE EDITOR: I respond here to two letters published in the dailies, purportedly from a COP executive member and a COP supporter.

Firstly, let me say it is very refreshing to see these individuals speaking out. However, after having several meetings with the COP in my capacity as an NTA executive member, I can safely say I have never seen or heard of these individuals before.

In fact, at the laying of the wreath in remembrance of the 1990 coup attempt – perhaps the COP’s most visible public event – I recall seeing just three COP members, who did not include present leader Prakash Ramadhar.

Secondly, there seemed to be a theme suggesting that NTA leader Gary Griffith claimed to have the support of COP voters and that somehow COP founder Winston Dookeran would be disappointed in Griffith, his leadership style, and the NTA’s overall efforts.

Firstly, let me dispel the claim that Griffith said he represents COP voters. What he said is that the NTA and other parties represent those people who previously voted for the COP and, before that, the NAR.

Additionally, the NTA would be wasting its time politically if it were claiming to represent COP voters, since, at last count in the 2020 general election, that number was 467. In comparison, the NTA’s first electoral effort at the local government level yielded 16,000 votes.

As for whether Dookeran would approve or disapprove, I suggest that people allow Dookeran to speak for himself. However, if these individuals are directing questions at Dookeran, they should also ask him how he views Ramadhar’s first stint as leader of the COP, which resulted in the decimation of the party – taking it from 148,000 votes in 2007, when Dookeran was in charge, to the paltry numbers it has today.

Finally, let me say it is downright disrespectful to floating voters to label them as COP or even NTA, as if we have some birthright claim to them. If that is the ethos of the COP, it certainly is not that of the NTA.

We stand firm on the principles of doing what is right, no matter the cost – something NTA leader Griffith never compromises on. This stance led to his dismissal as minister of national security under one government and his removal as commissioner under another, where one politician even stated, “Seeing Griffith gone, my biggest achievement.”

To be clear, we lay no claim to NTA voters as such, but the available evidence before us indicates that we appeal to increasingly aware and discerning members of the public who want genuine transformation.

They are not just interested in the removal of one party or another, but in raising the standard of governance across the board. Tricks and political games will not work on them, nor will attempts to fool them with cheap, transparent politics.

TIM TEEMAL communications director, NTA