Dear Editor,
Responsibility for the current condition of Guyana lies with all who have governed this nation since independence; however, the buck stops with the current government/party that has held the reins for the past seventeen years. Any reasonable person could understand the situation that PPP found itself in after being in opposition for twenty-eight years, and therefore the first five to eight years of its stewardship should be discounted as being a necessary period of adjustment.
However, reckoning and accountability come with being in charge, so to continually govern as though it is still in opposition is bewildering to say the least. When President Jagdeo was initially handed the presidency at the age of 35, there was a wellspring of support and optimism from many who believed here was someone who had the potential to transcend race and move the nation forward to take its rightful place among the democracies. Given the laundry list of failures and scandals that have been catalogued on President Jagdeo and by extension the PPP’s watch, it is clear that they have been tested and have been found woefully wanting.
Deeply entrenched voting patterns along ethnic lines are not in dispute, which brings me to the elephant in the room which everyone knows is there but conveniently ignores hoping it will disappear on its own. According to the last official census in 2002, there are roughly 751,000 persons living in Guyana, of which 43% are Indians and 30% are Africans accounting for the majority of the population. In the last elections, the AFC garnered over 30,000 votes primarily from disaffected PNC supporters.
The continued exodus of Indo-Guyanese to non-traditional countries (Barbados, Antigua, Bahamas, etc) versus traditional countries such as the US and Canada can no longer be blamed on Burnham banning flour or political persecution. The party that Indo-Guyanese have supported was at the helm when the state was under threat and responsibility for security was allegedly outsourced to a known drug trafficker. The administration abdicated its moral and constitutional responsibility not just to their most ardent supporters but to all Guyanese.
The question then becomes, why do PPP supporters continue to give emotional and financial support to a government which is held in low regard by neighbouring countries as evidenced by incursions into Guyana’s territorial space by Venezuela and Suriname and its citizens mistreated by Caricom member nations? Why support a ruling party and government that are plagued by corruption and incompetence and have yet to fire a single minister or high-level functionary for graft and/or incompetence despite the evidence?
The PPP cannot defend its abysmal record in office and their supporters should demand that they be held to higher standard than is required of public servants, and demand accountability. The ‘big ones’ are now untouchable as evidenced by their exemption from polygraph testing. It is time that every decent-minded PPP supporter whether rich or poor find their righteous voice and demand greater accountability from their elected leaders; don’t let them take their vote for granted; show them who’s the boss and push the proverbial elephant out of the room.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Jason
