Dear Editor,
The current APNU+AFC regime is a throwback to the PNC’s days in office. This is not surprising since the PNC is the dominant force in this coalition government. Any doubts one may have had about this dispensation must have been dispelled when they heard the speech that the PNC Leader, David Granger, made at the party’s recent Congress. Mr Granger asserted that his government is being guided by the ideas of Forbes Burnham. The most prominent of those ideas
was the paramountcy of the party. Burnham saw the state apparatus as just another arm of the party to utilize as it pleased.
That is the philosophy that led to taking measures to turn state institutions into party arms. The army and police had to swear loyalty to the party and its leader. According to Ken Danns, who wrote on the PNC’s militarization of the state, all officers of the army and police had to be members of the PNC. The regime even had the PNC flag flown above the Guyana flag at the Court of Appeal. This signalled that the judiciary, too, was not independent of the PNC’s influence. This mode of governance led to gross abuse of power and widespread corruption. It finally culminated in damage to the economy, pauperizing the masses.
An examination of this regime will show that we are on a similar road. The philosophy of paramountcy has made members of the regime insensitive to public opinion. That is why they gave themselves huge salary increases and bumped up their allowances by hundreds of percentage points, while offering a pittance to workers.
The regime has also been demonstrating a callous disregard for the laws of our society. The procurement process has been abandoned and the regime has gone back to the PNC’s practice of favouring their friends. Sole sourcing of pharmaceuticals and other goods and services has become the norm. The bond to house drugs is a case in point. The government advanced enough money to allow the purchase of the building. All the expenses have fallen on the taxpayers and yet they are paying $12.5M a month to rent the facility. Who will believe that this deal is not tainted?
At the same time, the small man, including donkey and horse cart operators, are being asked to pay taxes. The cases that are being settled long before they reach the court tell their own story as well. While the economy stagnates and sinks, the members of the regime are living it up in ‘Daimler’ style.
At the same time, we are witnessing disturbing signs of control by the regime.
The state’s control is beginning to stifle Guyanese. The devastating impact on the economy is being felt.
Yours faithfully,
Donald Ramotar
