Proprietor of the Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal, recently joined forces with Chartered Accountant, Nigel Hinds to form the Change Guyana Party which will contest the upcoming General and Regional Elections.
But there are some who believe that during the election campaign season, Badal would be haunted by his poor performance as Chairman of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Board from 2016 to 2018.
Specifically, Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds indicated that as Badal puts himself forward as an alternative leader, he has to be aware that he would be running on his record at GPL.
During his interview with Guyana Standard, Dr. Hinds said, “Mr. Badal would have a difficult time separating himself from his tenure on the Board at GPL. And as we know, that agency has had a difficult time. So it would be legitimate for voters to ask Mr. Badal to explain why he did not fix GPL and how as president he would do any better as head of the largest agency—The Government.”
Further to this, Dr. Hinds opined that while Badal’s party is new to the scene, he is not, as his former alliances with the Alliance For Change (AFC) are well known. The Executive Member of the WPA also said that all new parties would be hard-pressed to say what new ideas and practices they bring besides the names of their parties.
That dilemma aside, the political activist said he has no doubt that Badal who is running as the Change Guyana’s Presidential Candidate, would not be any match for APNU+AFC’s David Granger.
Dr. Hinds said, “Indeed, all candidates should be given an equal chance to debate the President. But I believe that Mr. Badal’s inexperience politically puts him at a disadvantage against the President who has had the experience of leading at the highest level. As a result, he is much more familiar with the issues and policies and the nuts and bolts of government.”
Dr. Hinds commented that Badal has not served at that level so he and other new aspirants have a lot of ground to cover between now and March 2, 2020.
