Dear Editor,
At last count, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has fired over half a dozen ministers in the span of a few short years. In over 22 years of PPP reign, not a single government minister has been fired. Not one. There was one supposed ‘resignation’ that was accepted. What does this say about what is happening in Trinidad and Tobago and here in Guyana?
To begin with, it says that Mrs Persad-Bissessar is either heavy headed, or intolerant of certain types of behaviour, or very decisive. And that she does not suffer political fools gladly. On the other hand, what has become the norm and acceptable by, and within, the PPP here in Guyana presents a stunningly different tableau.
The nation is forced to believe and accommodate against its wishes and ethical frame of reference, every type of scoundrel and felonious behaviour from men gracing the corridors of power, sitting in legislative session, and managing the business of this country. The nation is prompted to suppress both conscience and intellect – and the evidence – there might be a pathetic, laughable case made that the PPP is made up of highly principled people; people who are of an impeccable bent, at both the personal and professional levels. Thus, they are untouchable. Or it could be that they are untouchable for different and more sordid reasons.
The lawbreakers are untouchable because if one is removed, the whole baby party is over. Or that the political and financial secrets are so numerous and interlocking that not only a government would certainly fall, but a political party. The litany of serious wrongdoing is just too long and overwhelming for it to be otherwise. Then again, it could be that the PPP as a group has neither interest in, nor acquaintance with, such troublesome matters as professional principles, minimum standards, personal decency, and anything remotely resembling a recognizable code of conduct.
Thus this nation has what it has: a motley collection of perverse characters, who would be disgraced and dismissed in any other civilized jurisdiction; in any place where the barest modicum of self-respect still existed. That is, any place, save for Guyana.
It is why I look at this sorry bunch with utter contempt, whether from top or at bottom; very few are exempted. It is why I salute those who associate with them, and work for them, as having stronger stomachs, and a more elastic conscience than most honest citizens will ever possess. And still they are dishonorable enough to remain in the midst, when they should have been tarred and feathered, and run out of town.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
