Dear Editor,
The word is out there: in with Local Government Elections, out with the no-confidence motion. Call it compromise, quid pro quo, or the noble art of domestic politics. In my book, it is one group being able to justify its existence, and the other living for another day. This leaves the AFC out there isolated and alone amidst the mud and garbage.
Others will disagree, but however looked at, this is one more example of the incestuous politics that has perpetuated the PPP/PNC political lineage(s) and ruined this nation in the process. Each barters this nation’s present and future for immediate private gratification. So after all the hullabaloo and stridencies, secrets remain political family secrets; turf is protected; and so the sorry onlookers get to cheer the backroom deals that maintain political imperialism, political hegemony and political evils.
Recall I had warned about the Ides of September, as uttered by the retired Brigadier. Recall that I shared misgivings about those timed public pronouncements from the ruling party and opposition about ‘national front’ and ‘national unity’ arrangements as the way forward, and how self-serving this was for both monstrosities. Well Guyanese need to ready to welcome the first child of that thinking, that represents still unofficial, still insider dealings, which is Local Government Elections for dropping the no-confidence vote. It is understood that a full voting house would not be present until sometime around the end of the first quarter of next year. Call it the exigencies of circumstances. So this is the deal, the fix that could-would-grace the consciousness soon enough.
In the meantime, both parties look good, vacuous men get to make even more vacuous speeches, and perplexed citizens get to celebrate that which they know not….
As an aside, and sticking with this Local Government business, two weeks ago, I stopped for a moment at the encouraging sight of dozens of opposition protesters-peaceful protesters, heavily armed with telltale placards and lusty voices, beating a determined path in front of the Office of the President. The chant was for Local Government elections. Now. It is a right, a necessity, a possible remedy. But there was a glaring deficiency in the ranks of the protestors: To the last man and woman, they were all Black, and 100% so.
Where were the outraged Indians who drive past garbage daily? Where were the angry Indians and ‘mixed people’ who hopscotch around the detritus of the drains dumped in yards and what is left of walking space? And where were all the other citizens who swat at flies and mosquitoes and rodents? Where were they, where are they? Surely, they cannot be that contented, that accepting of standards and life as they exist in the capital city which they either inhabit or share? Surely, it cannot be only Black Guyanese who are concerned and impacted by the suffocating presence of business conglomerates in the residential street? These are businesses that make their own traffic laws, environmental laws, noise pollution laws, and so forth. Then again, one never knows in this place…
So, as the pending announcement unfolds, Guyanese get to celebrate Christmas early and longer. They should start right now, and keep going until December 2015, when they can start all over again.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
