Guyana is in need of democratic governance, according to United Republican Party (URP) presidential candidate Vishnu Bandhu, who says the political forces that led the country for the past half of a century have instead been trying to rule it.
“If you have one party sitting in the seat of government too long, they feel that they own that seat. This is what we have happening with the current government,” Bandhu told Stabroek News during a recent interview. “Guyana needs persons who are interested in governing democratically, not ruling,” he added.
According to Bandhu, who has remigrated to Guyana twice, many Guyanese want to come home and develop their country but they won’t under the current PPP/C government or under an APNU+AFC-led government. These two forces have had almost 50 years to govern Guyana and have not done so democratically, he noted, while charging that instead they both have tried to rule.
“Anyone who goes into government needs to be selfless, they can’t think about themselves and family. You are not a family person anymore, you are the people’s person and you need to work for and with the people. URP doesn’t have the answer for everything, that’s why we need to govern with the people not rule them,” Bandhu said.
Bandhu explained that while a ruler wishes to dominate his followers, a true government works with the people. A government shouldn’t try to impress its people by referring to roads or schools or bridges they built, he added. “That’s their job and they didn’t do it with money out of their pocket. It’s the people’s money and they are being paid to manage it,” he said.
The URP, which contested the 1992 elections but failed to win a seat, has been approved to contest general elections and regional elections in all of the geographical regions except Region One.
Led by Bandhu and running mate Brandon Jones, it is campaigning by meeting with persons on a one on one basis.
Bandhu, who described himself as a passionate community worker, has been involved in construction, farming and real estate businesses in Guyana, the United States and the Dominican Republic. He has also served as a leader of several social organisations, such as the United Federation of Arts and Culture (UFAC), the Central Arya Samaj and the Interstate Sigfa Health Organisation (ISHO) based in New York.
He said his varied business interests would allow him, if he becomes president, to donate his salary to the people of Guyana. “Guyana can’t afford to be paying these exorbitant salaries for president. That money should be used to better the lives of the poor people in the country,” he said.
‘Everything comes back to the economy’
If elected to government, he said, the URP intends to accomplish six main tasks within the first 90 days. These tasks, according to the party’s manifesto, include the launching of an economic stimulus plan which will bring relief to a wide cross section of Guyana, initiation of a poverty reduction programme and ensuring that established laws are enforced.
Bandhu said the accomplishment of these tasks will see the party beginning its implementation of its modern and safe vision for Guyana.
The URP believes that all the social ills in Guyana are linked to the economy. “Everything, when you go around the table, comes back to the economy,” Bandhu said. This belief is behind the URP’s aim to implement policies intended to stimulate the economy and to assist in eradicating poverty.
One such policy involves the “promotion of self-reliance through active and practical encouragement of small and medium industrial initiatives, handicraft and agriculture.” There is a need, Bandhu said, to move Guyana from a primary producing country that exports raw material to a country that can export secondary manufactured products. “I don’t believe we should export raw products from this country. We should do finished products. By doing finished products, you will create employment for people,” he said.
Another aim of the URP, as part of its economic stimulus plan, is to “create a hospitable private sector atmosphere for manufacturing and production businesses to thrive and prosper in Guyana, while ensuring protection for local industries and manufacturers.” This is expected to increase customer spending on local goods which will then act as stimulation and encouragement for industrialisation.
Lamenting the fact that the high crime rate prevents many foreign investors from coming to Guyana, therefore hindering the flow of foreign currency into the country, Bandhu said the URP intends to improve security by ensuring that laws are implemented and security forces are paid better wages. “The law is there but it’s not being implemented. This is a problem the PPP has known of since 1992 but perhaps if they had implemented the law half of them may have been in jail. Further, we jail the small fish and not the big man. If you jail the big man, then the smaller man will say, ‘if they can jail that man, what about me?’ He will think a hundred times before he commits any crime,” he noted. “Our police need to be paid well. If they can’t maintain their families, they take bribes,” he also said.
