Dear Editor,
I refer to an article in the Stabroek News of Tuesday, April 25th, 2017, captioned `APNU councillor tables motion aimed at sanctioning gross misconduct against Mayor.’ Let me say at the outset that speaking as a political activist I see no wisdom in this pending motion that was tabled by my friend and comrade Mr. Heston Bostwick.
The motion has its genesis in the parking meter project which I believe, was correctly rejected by citizens and the central government. It is on public record that the way the Mayor and the Town Clerk dealt with this important matter, in and out of the council chambers, was nothing short of disastrous and was more damaging to the reputation of the council than any of the negative criticisms which would have been made by dissenting councilors.
I have known comrade Bostwick for many years. We worked closely in the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) and in demonstrations organised by the People’s Movement for Justice (PMJ) against acts of oppression by the former PPP/C regime. Mr. Bostwick is a serious political activist and a party loyalist and is known to have independent positions on matters of national politics. My experience with comrade Bostwick indicates that he can at times be strong-headed and is politically unpredictable. I have no doubt that the opinions he expressed in the motion are very strongly held views of his.
But what took place in the Council chambers in relation to this very unfortunate project does not justify such a motion and even if it does, is it the correct thing to do politically?
The parking meter project had promised much -bringing order to the city’s streets and financial gains to the cash-strapped council, but ended up delivering little on both scores. What it did was to open up political space for the opposition PPP and other government detractors.
My advice to Bostwick in so far as his motion is concerned is that as presently constructed, it is dictatorial and out of sync with the modern sense of democracy. One cannot ignore the feeling that the intention here is to drive fear into the minds of persons who may disagree with positions advocated by certain elements in the Council, both within and outside of the Council. This is a retrograde step, it is self-defeating and is politically backward to believe that threats to impose disciplinary measures on non-compliant members of the Council is the way to go and are the solutions in every situation. There are times in political struggle when playing to the rules is counterproductive to national interests, especially when those who are interpreting the rules are doing so with their self-interests in mind.
Inherent in this motion and the circumstances that led to it are political undercurrents that can negatively impact the existence of the APNU+AFC coalition. While I strongly support personal initiatives by political activists and I recognise that Mr. Bostwick has the right to pursue his conviction, he at the same time has to be mindful that others in the council are also inclined and have the right to take strong personal initiatives.
He must remember, and if he doesn’t, he should be reminded that he is involved in a political process which involves other political forces and he represents not the PNC in the council but the APNU+AFC. And while iron fist discipline may be a feature of the PNCR political culture, it is certainly not part of the WPA’s or may be not even the AFC’s political culture.
I end by saying that my political judgement is that as much as there are elements in the PNC who supports comrade Bostwick’s motion and its intentions. I will be a most surprised political activist if the party allows this motion to pass as it is presented.
Yours faithfully,
Tacuma Ogunseye