Dear Editor,
It appears that the Bureau of Statistics’ recently released census figures are being used as an open invitation for power-sharing calls. At least two prominent figures, Messrs Chrstopher Ram and Ralph Ramkarran, have given different reasons for supporting such a move.
Mr Ram, who says the figures showed a loss of 125,000 people in the 2002-12 decade (SN, July 2) and that the true population figure should have been between 1.2 million and 1.5 million (SN, July 8), made his power-sharing pitch as a means to reverse high migration (SN, July 6).
Mr Ramkarran then echoed the power-sharing call, but for an entirely different reason: the declining numbers in Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne) mean that if the PPP wants to continue holding political power, it has to share it (SN, July 13).
The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) chipped in with its published belief that the “alarming census results should drive change in governance, (SN, July 12) and urged that initiatives be taken to ensure greater ethnic inclusiveness. This, coming from a non-political organization that purportedly advocates for Indian Guyanese, represents a potent blow to the Indian-dominated PPP, because it means the PPP has failed in the area of ethnic inclusiveness.
Labour leader, Mr Lincoln Lewis, perhaps in reaction to Mr Ram’s call, wrote a letter, ‘Evidence-based discussions needed on executive governance to address the interest of all,’ (SN, July 7), even identifying mechanisms by which the concept might work. To which PPP letter writer, Mr Sultan Mohammed, (some think it is a conglomerate or fake name) responded, ‘No to shared governance; yes to federalism,’ (SN, July 12). Federalism, by the way, was advocated by ROAR, which may make some wonder if Mr Ravi Dev is really…
Anyway, not that these recent calls are new, because a search of Guyana’s two leading independent dailies’ archives, SN and KN, will reveal letters and news items attributed to local political and social commentators urging consideration of the concept, without any detail on its working mechanism.
SN’s columnist, Ms Iana Seales, for example, made a rather compelling argument for the concept in her piece, ‘Power sharing has become a political necessity,’ (SN, December 28, 2013). And while under SN’s ‘Related Content’ section, a host of power-sharing or shared governance items can also be found, it is the renewed interest in the concept, first by Mr Ram and now by Mr Ramkarran, which has occasioned this letter. I simply hold a different view from Mr Ramkarran on the reason for the PPP’s fate.
A cursory comparative analysis between our elections figures from 2001 to 2011 and our possible migration figures from 2002 to 2012, clearly indicate a greater decline in support for the PPP at the polls, not so much at ports of exit. And until and unless the PPP fixes its internal problems, any power-sharing will only be a political marriage of convenience that will further exacerbate problems in governance. For Mr Ramkarran’s benefit, the latest census figures reveal that Guyana’s population went from 751,223 in 2002 to 747,884 in 2012 or a loss of 3,339 citizens. In Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne), a PPP constituency, which is where Mr Ram premised his fears of a falling PPP, 14,264 persons moved out. That number is higher than the national figure, which means folks likely moved to other local communities, and confirms the PPP is losing support because of voter apathy.
The basis of his power-sharing call, therefore, may have exposed Mr Ramkarran as a deeply devoted PPPite, who still wants to see the PPP remain in power, even if he is on the outside looking in. Maybe he is quietly hopeful of making a return and may do just that for the sake of the party, except that he should remember what happened to Moses Nagamootoo. You cross the PPP at your own risk!
Anyway, back to the facts and figures of my letter. In 2001, of the 403,734 votes cast, the PPP got 210,013 or 53%. In 2006, of the 336,375 votes cast, the PPP got 183,867 or 54.6%. In 2011, of the 342,126 votes cast, the PPP got 166,340 or 48.6%. The PPP lost a total of 43,673 votes during the 2001-2011 decade of polling, which is a much higher number than the 3,339 persons the nation lost or even the 14,264 Region 6 lost during the 2002-2012 decade of census analysis.I am highly doubtful, therefore, that Mr Ramkarran has made a compelling case for the PPP to consider power-sharing, because I am convinced the PPP is well aware of the changing numbers out there, which may well be why there is a growth in the number of Chinese nationals migrating to Guyana, being granted legal status and eventual naturalized citizenship to possibly participate in elections.
I am also convinced that if the PPP ever concedes to power-sharing it will set very high and strict conditions, including being the senior partner with the last say in decisions. Yes, the stakes of power for this corrupt, dictatorial and uncaring PPP are that high, and that is why calls for power-sharing involving an unreformed PPP, or even an unreformed PNC, could be a recipe for catastrophe. Be careful what we wish for, folks!
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
