GUYANA | Dr. Richard Van West Charles and his ambassadorial appointment

GEORGETOWN,  Guyana, September 27, 2023 - Sunday night saw fireworks going off. As was expected dogs scrambled to get to wherever they considered safe. Some squeezed under cars. The house dogs either snuggled up to their owners or crawled under beds.

It wasn’t Diwali or Old Year’s or Independence. It was Guyana winning its first ever CPL title. It took the Amazon Warriors ten years to achieve this feat. And it wasn’t that they never came close. They had reached the finals on five occasions.

A mere two years ago they won every game ahead of the finals, then sent people home in tears on the day of the finals. All day Monday people were talking about the victory.

I remember the time when the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championships. The year was 2019. That was also the first time that the Raptors had ever won the title. Canada went crazy just as Guyana became crazy Sunday night.

One millionaire offered the leader, Kawhi Leonard, a mansion and whatever else he needed.  This was just to get Leonard to remain with the team. The enticement just didn’t work. Leonard left and the Raptors are still trying to win another NBA Championship.

On Monday, there was the Carnival parade through the streets. The euphoria of the CPL win was still alive with the people. That was the talking point.

On Tuesday there was another talking point. Dr. Richard Van West Charles was nominated to be Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela. The news spread like wildfire. Some expressed shock, others, disappointment.

The shock was because Dr Van West Charles was the son-in-law of the man who founded the People’s National Congress, Forbes Burnham.

He, Van West Charles, was also the man who challenged Aubrey Norton and Joseph Harmon for the leadership of the party a mere two years ago.

He lost in his bid to become the leader of the PNCR but he was named an adviser to the eventual winner, Aubrey Norton. Now he has been nominated by the People’s Progressive Party to head to Venezuela.

He is following in the footsteps of Charrandass Persaud, the man who sat in the Government benches and voted with the opposition on a no confidence motion brought by the PPP. He was rewarded with a posting to India as the High Commissioner.

This was the same Van West Charles who was critical of the results of the 2020 general and regional elections. This was the man who headed Guyana Water Inc. until the new government came into office. The new administration sacked him within a week of assuming office.

The government hauled him before the courts for under declaring his oil imports to Guyana. He won that case and had to be paid handsomely.

Then, fences were mended. He was seen embracing Irfaan Ali, which is what mature people in politics do. More recently, he appeared on a stage at State House with Irfaan, dancing to drums at an Emancipation ceremony.

People noticed and wondered. When asked about the relationship, Irfaan Ali said that Dr Van West Charles was his friend and brother. Nuff said.

Is Dr Van West Charles still a member of the PNCR? I don’t know. I know that he has not been attending meetings of the Central Executive Committee to which he was elected. He stopped being an adviser to Norton because, according to reports, Norton was suspicious of Van West Charles’s relentless pushing for Norton to have dialogue with Irfaan.

And this was not a bad thing except that there was no reciprocal movement by Ali. On one occasion Ali told a press conference that people should avoid those people who wanted to steal democracy. He also refused to appoint the opposition to state boards despite the nominations.

It was therefore not surprising that Norton was skeptical of the approach by Dr. Van West Charles. The million-dollar question is what prompted Van West Charles to make that move.

In one corner, there are people who say that he is in dire straits financially. That is difficult to believe with his business endeavours, his pension from PAHO/WHO, his old age pension, his NIS and not a chick to mind.

But then again, when people are at a certain state their living expenses could be very high.

I tried to reach out to Dr Van West Charles but my calls went unanswered. I asked some people who were known to be close to him to make contact. They came back to say that he was not answering the phone.

Perhaps he has no phone. But then again, he just does not want to answer to his friends.

The Foreign Minister told a reporter that his party does not fill vacancies with its own supporters. “It’s a very inclusive government. We need all hands on deck. We are a very inclusive government.”

Surely, that doesn’t seem to be the case. When one looks at the various appointments to the heads of agencies, one would not get that impression that the PPP is all inclusive. Everywhere one looks, a PPP appointee is in charge. Even retiree Shaikh Baksh continues to hold on to the top spot at GWI.

When people look at the award of contracts only a certain group of people is awarded. It is the same with the sale of oil blocks.

Dr Van West Charles must be one of the select outsiders who have caught the eye of the PPP.