Dear Editor,
I wish to make it clear that age is not a barrier in the general context, and I believe that experience plays a critical role in growth and development, but it has to be correctly placed. An 84-year-old Chairman of Gecom is not correctly placed; even worse, he will be 87 in 2020.
The people deserve a Chairman where no question arises about their mental and physical aptitude to execute that role efficiently. This is not only an issue for the Chairman, but the same can be said of the President, who seems to be making isolated decisions that call into question his clarity, intentions and foresight for Guyana.
Guyana in its current state of affairs cannot afford to have leaders who are too old to hold critical political posts, since they come from a toxic era. All political operators in Guyana have been and are still affected by this dynamic, with the exception of the late Walter Rodney who was the first to understand and successfully make the case to his fellow Guyanese. Unfortunately, it is widely believed the PNC assassinated him. What is important to note is that Walter Rodney was only 38 years old when he died, and he had already became a leading world scholar and intellect on developmental politics and history.
These old politicians have done a lot of harm by indoctrinating young people in the way of their toxic political past, and we see this being a major obstacle today. Guyana must break free from this idea of separation to survive and start looking at unity to thrive. Sadly, President Granger’s unilateral decision to choose a Gecom Chairman, who is clearly too old, continues the tradition of stagnated politics that only benefits the good old boys and girls.
Young people must take a stand and demand their right to be heard in all aspects of Guyana’s affairs, even if it means finding a new way to coin our political future. This decision calls for a ‘Parking Meter’-like peaceful protest until these politicians gets the message.
Yours faithfully,
Malcolm Watkins
