Dear Editor,
I am writing in the capacity of a humble citizen who is backing the APNU + AFC coalition and wishes that the presidency of Mr. David Granger is a tremendous success. I am of the view that Mr. Granger’s ascendance to the leadership role of Guyana was divine. Our President is a man of God. He believes in him. The first thing he did as the president was to drive himself to church and thank him.
The President has a prestigious opportunity. He was elected just in time to lead this country up to its fiftieth year of independence. He also has the authority to guide it into the fifty-first year – the beginning of a fresh fifty years. Another six weeks the occasion will have arrived and all the glory will be bestowed upon him. I am hoping that the President would understand why he was the chosen one and why he should make good of the opportunity given.
I believe that milestones have significant meanings. The past fifty years were devastated by an intense war between the staunch believers and followers of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Mr. Forbes Burnham. Our country was terribly destabilized and regressed because of it. I am putting it to all that the president was given the divine authority to stop this – to turn this country around. Now it is only a case of him understanding or considering his role in that light and acting on it.
As a Christian, the president must be well aware of miracles. I do not think it will be hard for him to consider that he is the miracle for the Guyanese people and Guyana. Let us all look back at the situation in our country about six months before the 11th May 2015. Did anyone contemplate Mr. Granger becoming President with all that was going on? Then suddenly the AFC broke their steadfast position. My conclusion is that the accord and the wave of support, which followed, was a miracle.
Where do we go from here? I have noticed that since the coalition’s victory that many dormant supporters of the main party in the coalition have pushed themselves back into play with the attitude that the APNU was the main force that caused the win. I sometimes get the feeling that the president is pressured and backed up against a wall with all of this; that everything whispered into his ears about strategy, and whatever, is coming with the old voice of 1964 to 1992.
I am suggesting that the President be magnanimous. He should stop this trend forthwith. It has been fifty years, equally shared between the supporters of Burnham and Jagan. Everyone had their chance. They used it accordingly. Guyana and Guyanese cannot afford to sit back and let any group have a redo.
I think that Mr. Granger should approach his deliberations as the President of Guyana who happens to be a member of the PNC. I hope he does not confuse his roll or flip it around. It means Guyana comes first. It must be remember that from all the persons who could have been given the leadership role, he was chosen. It means that as things swirl around he has to maintain his integrity. He cannot afford to allow the misjudgment of anyone to fall on him. He cannot afford to have any atrocity of the past to rest on his shoulders. He should defend his integrity with a vengeance – I suggest a total retaliation. Remember, it should be President first before any other consideration.
In six weeks, after all the pageant, revelry and excitement the President will have to get down to taking Guyana into a new era. I hope it is a post Jagan and Burnham era, an era kind of reminiscent of the racial harmony of pre Jagan/Burnham. We have a nation to build. It is long overdue. The President was given the opportunity to do it, and it may take more than one term. I look to him understanding the opportunity and grasping it.
Going forward, I think there are too many old-school folks who rushed in, advising and developing policy. Most of what we will get will be old school. I understand the reward system for dedicated work. I also understand the necessity to hire home grown Guyanese, especially the young just out of university. However, our President must be able to notice the limitations when it shows up and act upon it.
My suggestion is that there is a need for a new-school think-tank for every single ministry and government organisation, involving qualified and experienced Guyanese, and other willing nationalities in the Diaspora. I would be looking for persons who have made it big in their field, be it finances, tourism, hydro-electricity or business. I am talking about persons who have done it and are doing it, operating at the highest level in major companies or governments around the world. There may be Guyanese who can suggest the turnaround of the sugar industry; and that is big, and a good starting place. Please note that I am not talking about anyone taking away anybody’s job/work. I am talking about think-tanks.
Also, I am not saying that there are Guyanese at home who do not qualify to be in the think-tanks. Far from it. As a matter of fact, has anyone asked the top gun at DDL for any advice or to be on any committee? And there are many others. We must be willing to use all our positive resources, regardless of perceived party affiliation in this new era.
Yours faithfully,
F. Skinner
