Dear Editor,
The PNC leadership has exercised power, has lost power and the likelihood of it being permanently in opposition is very high. Without the Indian-Guyanese votes, the PNC will lose elections in Guyana at least for the next 10 years.
No amount of strategising with a Barbadian political strategist can win elections in Guyana. Winning elections in Guyana requires the right candidate who can inspire the young people and all races, a large army of political activists who believe the message and are passionate about spreading the message, grounding with the people in all communities to truly understand their developmental needs and issues and ensure that they know that the party is willing to help. Most importantly, it must have large amounts of cash.
Unfortunately no single political party has all of these attributes, but the PPP is the best positioned of the lot at mobilising and organising its constituents and it is extremely ‘flush’ with cash. The PPP is so rich today that the 2011 elections could well have a legacy as the ‘dollar elections.’ Are the PNC leaders prepared for another five years in opposition or would they want to be an equal partner in the People’s Partnership – the winning team?
I am a young Indian-Guyanese who learnt my politics in the belly of the PPP. I have witnessed over the last decade the historical unrivalled abuses of our constitution, of our Treasury, of our state institutions and most importantly of our working class, especially the sugar and bauxite workers. I have lived to witness a Jagdeo administration that has abandoned most of the Jagan ideals such as reducing the gap between the rich and the poor in Guyana, and a lean, clean and mean administration. Such abuses dictate a call to political action and militancy, but to date no concrete political actions have been taken by the political opposition and civil society. Police abuse, GRA abuse, corruption in most state institutions, disrespect and abuse of the rule of law by the ruling aristocrats are all examples of bad actions by bad people, but yet civil society (private sector, trade unions, academics from UG) and the political opposition have by and large lost their pens, tongues and their feet to write about, speak out and march against this oppressive regime. Such political inertia leaves only a few options to the youth of Guyana: – join the corrupt ruling cabal and orchestrate some financial action for themselves, or jump on the next plane out of Guyana to maintain their integrity.
As Martin Luther King said: “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people” (1963).
Most people talking in private are aware of and fed up with the daily onslaught of corruption, abuse of the rule of law, petty vindictiveness and lack of transformational leadership of the Jagdeo regime. Paraphrasing Dr Walter Rodney, the people ‘recognize the historical problem of racial, economic, social, and cultural inequality’ that exists. Although Dr Rodney recognised this inequality between the “third world” and the “first world,” this inequity has now manifested itself between the haves and the have nots in Guyana. Dr Rodney’s instructions to himself remain relevant today. He stated his duty was to “expose the role of local dictators who benefited from the status quo, and hence were invested in dictatorial processes that kept the working people in subjection.”
Guyanese are fed up with the abuses by Jagdeo’s cabal, with the latest being the giving away of US$15 million to someone who has almost zero experience and competence at building forest roads. The traditional leadership of the PPP has been pummelled into the sidelines by ‘dollar politics’ and crass vindictiveness. I would not be surprised if constitutional shenanigans are unleashed by this regime to extend the presidential term of office by 2 years under the pretext that Gecom is not ready to hold elections in 2011.
The silent majority in Guyana remains under-represented. The truth is most of them will not galvanise behind the PNC for political leadership because of that party’s historical baggage. Without a significant segment of the Indian-Guyanese votes, the PNC can never win an election and that is why for the sake of the country, it is time the PNC make way for the AFC to drive the formulation of the People’s Partnership against oppression. The AFC is more acceptable to PPP supporters (both former and present) who continue to suffer at the hand of this oppressive regime. The PNC can consider itself the largest opposition party, but it will not win the next elections in Guyana even if it put a Moses Nagamootoo as its presidential candidate.
By and large in the Indian-Guyanese mindset, the PNC is all things bad; the PNC is the party that will take away opportunities from PPP supporters and the only tool available to correct this perception is time. However, time is not on the side of the PNC today. Thus, my call to the PNC to practise practical politics today and back off a bit.
This backing off by the PNC could give the more acceptable AFC a chance to lead in the formation of the People’s Partnership that will free the people from the chains of the oppressors.
The presidential candidate must be someone who is independent of the PNC, well respected to all races and unfortunately not a member of the PNC. Sorry, but it is necessary even for Mr Murray, who walks the corridors of parliament as one of the best in the House, to make a personal sacrifice today for the reaping of the fruits tomorrow. The PNC must make the sacrifice now or else we will be saddled with Mr Jagdeo for another 5 years.
History and time is on the side of the law-abiding citizens of Guyana, but they must influence their leaders to make sacrifices now for the betterment of all. Paul Hardy, Michael Abrahams, Ravi Dev, Clive Thomas, Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, Joe Singh, Winston Murray, Clarissa Riehl, Roopert Roopnaraine, Cheddi Jagan Jnr, Yesu Persaud and the other patriotic leaders who are committed to waking the people up, must step forward now, not next year, under a People’s Partnership. This means that a consensus candidate like Joe Singh who can be acceptable to all races in Guyana could emerge. There may be other names and I confess I do not know all the acceptable candidates, and I stand corrected if there are others.
This question about the single presidential candidate has to be settled before the end of the year, not next year. There is much work to do, the army of community organisers has to be launched, the funds have to be raised, the people have to be mobilised and motivated, the teams have to be agreed upon, and the message has to be aligned.
One lesson that I have learnt from Nick Clegg, was that his party had the best policy in the last British elections. He could have taken the principled stance of adhering to his policies and sitting in the opposition. He chose to be a partner in the new government to act on some of his party’s philosophy. What he did was practised practical politics and he found himself in government where he can influence policy in a more direct manner as compared to sitting on the opposition benches. The PNC can be in a position to effectively raise its issue after 20 years in opposition if it allows the People Partnership to go ahead without trying to dominate that movement.
The PNC has a role to play in ensuring that the issues most important to the African-Guyanese dominated communities like Buxton and Victoria are captured, but it must not be seen as the dominator of the People’s Partnership. If the PNC chooses the position of arrogance, then so be it; we shall stand divided and shall all perish as we surrender 5 more years to Jagdeo and his cronyism. Interesting times ahead for Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Sasenarine Singh
