Dear Editor,
It is not my intention to discredit the personal achievements of Mr Raphael Trotman or the historic development in Guyana’s parliament. Congratulations are in order. What I would like to do here is proclaim my scepticism and point out the negatives I perceive coming out of these developments.
Since the PPP split in the fifties, that saw the formation of the PNC, there has been tremendous racial animosity which has constantly held back our country’s development. When it comes to dirty play there is no innocent party. There is a lot of mistrust, indeed, too much going around. Through the outcome of the 2011 elections I saw a path towards eliminating these barriers. I expected the leaders to see things in a positive light and the tremendous possibilities inherent in what the electorate presented to us. I fear, however, that the opposition may have played right into the hands of a party that is very uneasy about losing total control.
Here’s why. There seems to be not much fight in the PPP/C accepting the nomination of Mr Trotman as Speaker. I have the feeling that a Nagamootoo speakership would have made them comfortable but it would have also placed them in a bind. The Indians who supported him would have been happy and the party could not or would not have attempted to call split elections. But, here we are. After the swearing in of Mr Trotman as Speaker the President tells us that he is looking seriously at the happenings in parliament. The President and his party must be smiling silently from within. What President Ramotar is saying is code-speak for split elections.
It is dangerous for us not to appreciate, understand and accept where our salvation comes from. I am 100% positive that the Nagamootoo factor gave Guyana a real opportunity to destroy racial voting patterns and give the electorate the confidence of voting on issues only. But alas, it is most unlikely that Mr Nagamootoo and the joint opposition would see the same result if the PPP/C goes ahead with their bluff.
I think, even though Mr Nagamooto seconded the nomination for Mr Trotman, that this will appear as a loss for the people who shifted allegiance to support him. Moreso, the PPP/C will throw this in their faces. It will be worse than what Ravi Dev experienced when he stood a chance of moving a considerable amount of the voting bloc his way.
Let’s face it folks. The stars were aligned for us. Mr Nagamootoo’s late move to the AFC was all part of the alignment. It saved him from obscurity and presented success. I hope the significance of this is not totally lost by those who benefited. I hope it is not too late for our leaders to re-assess what the phenomenon of the 2011 elections is all about, wise up and get around to moving forward and let this blip be just that – a blip. Looking ahead, let’s hope that commonsense prevails in the interest of the development of Guyana.
But, what am I worrying about? I may be totally wrong about this and I really hope so. What do I, a rank layman, know about politics, anyway?
Yours faithfully,
F Skinner
