Aesop’s Fables and former AFC parliamentarians

Like the Fox in Aesop’s Fable ‘The Fox and the Grapes’ former Members of Parliament (MPs),
Mr. Audwin Rutherford and Mr. Reynard Ward are condemning the fruit because they no longer
can enjoy it.
Beginner MP Deonarine ‘Ricky’ Ramsaroop in a critique on pronouncements made by
Rutherford and Ward on their well-publicised exit from the Alliance For Change (AFC) party
drew on the ‘Fox and the Grapes’ analogy: “This whole thing is because we have fresh new faces
as new Members of Parliament like myself. I use myself as an example when it comes to
Member of Parliament. You (Rutherford and Ward) were there sitting for how many years as
Member of Parliament and because you don’t get it (again) you are sour about it,” he said.
Freshman MP Ramsaroop has been blunt in a few candid recent interviews with
www.aroundtheregions.com on a range of issues what Rutherford and Ward have said on their
way out seems to touch a raw nerve in the opposition politician.
“The people want to see new faces; the country wants to see new faces. You want to see fresh
people; you want to see people who are objective not people who will be sucked up to anything,”
he hinted referring to his former colleagues.
And he drew again on the writings in Aesop’s Fables.
“He (Rutherford) is crying over sour grapes. I think his comments are baseless and he should
have gotten more involved in terms of the lower party politics on the ground. Let me give you an
example. We have set out an online process for new members and within less than two weeks we
got over 60 new members nationally and this was placed on social media…among just among
two or three members. So, if you spread the network, it would have been more depending on
who is accessing it. We would have gotten more membership,” he explained.
“A lot of people had come on to (joined) the AFC because they want to. You must want to make
a difference…to represent your people and country…not to be a minister,” he counselled,
seemingly referring to Rutherford and Ward.

Ramsaroop firmly believes the former AFC legislators have soured and tried “giving the party a
bad name” because they were scratched from the party’s list of MPs for the Twelfth Parliament
following the results of the March 2020 polls won by the Peoples Progressive Party Civic
(PPP/C) coalition under Irfaan Ally.
He said since some of the ‘old’ MPs were not re-selected they are now bent on tarnishing the
image and national contributions that the AFC continues to do despite its loss as part of the
coalition with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
Rutherford lashed out at Ramsaroop’s critical review of their role as legislators bashing his
former party as Peoples National Congress (PNC) lackeys.
“The AFC seems to have no independent (voice) – the party has lost its way and seems
comfortable being subservient to PNCR. This attitude is particularly pronounced in Region 10.
To compound matters the executives of the party were prepared to not have the Regional Vice
Chairman in Region 10 – this posture I think is disrespectful to, particularly, the long serving
members,” Rutherford said as a parting shot in his letter of resignation to party General
Secretary, Mr. David Patterson.
For Ramsaroop, Rutherford mirrors the moral in the popular story in Aesop’s fable. Like the fox,
the former MP is unwilling and steadfastly refuses to own up to his failings as a legislator
representing the impoverished mining community of Upper Demerara/Berbice (Region Ten).
For Ramsaroop, Rutherford was only captivated by the splendour of being a MP.