Dear Editor,
I seek to share my thinking on what should constitute a National Front Body. It might just work, if it is given a chance to be tried.
For starters, the maximum presence in any such national body should be as follows: PPP 15%, APNU 15%, and the AFC 10%. The formula is arbitrary, and everyone should see that this would be a non-starter with the political bosses, but it gives Guyanese a chance to really participate in the texture and trajectory of their own destiny.
The other 60% of this body would be peopled by names linked to professionalism, or expertise, or personal ethics, or longstanding efforts to make this country workable, if not better. Among the names that come to mind are Bryn Pollard, Donald Trotman, Chris Ram, Chris Fernandes, Yesu Persaud, Thomas Singh, Anand Goolsarran, Trini Boyce of City Hall, Denis Chabrol, and Glenn Lall. I ask myself, why the latter? I remember Joe Kennedy. Then there is Rev Loris Heywood and Monsignor Montrose, along with representatives from the other major religions, even if they are politically tainted.
Some will say lots of older folks and all men. Then, I offer Gerhard Ramsaroop, Dr Janice Imhoff, Iana Seales, Andaiye, Melinda Janki, and Sara Bharrat. I need help with the names of a few Amerindians dedicated foremost to the interests of their people.
There could and should be others, such as Shiv Chanderpaul (dedication to duty and earning honestly); Anthony Pantlitz (about poverty, war, and overcoming); and M Maxwell (come out of the closet – give more).
This is not all encompassing, and I admit to missing some names; put that down to being a stranger. There are those who might shrink from some of the names mentioned, but I believe that these men and women have been, for the most part, about interest and dedication in the Guyanese cause. It is a blend of the successful, the assertive, and the concerned. This list is fluid and prone to all manner of controversy and dispute; it is a small beginning. Most of these people I have never met, there is no relationship. This is risky, but it is one that I take. Readers can add or delete accordingly; after all there is a whole governance structure to fill.
It should be noticed that some prominent names are missing. I am not convinced that those folks are about country first, or of a vision other than that which takes care of them. There is simply too much work to be done that calls for integrity of the highest order.
The work of such a national body would be about 2-3 years during which it must prioritize and deliver on such issues as constitutional reform; police reform; judicial reform; and City Hall overhaul, along with Georgetown restoration, among many others.
Here is the bottom line: This country can be wrested from the suffocating destructive financial and racial embrace of the old political masters. They would have to give up a fabulous world and accommodate. This will not happen. But this is how I think a national front body should be peopled, if only to give a trace of hope. Otherwise, it is more fooling of ourselves and extending the anguish of this nation indefinitely.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
