Dear Editor,
My letters to the press have been underpinned by the idea that an informed population makes better and more intelligent decisions. Stabroek News has undisputedly contributed much to strengthening Guyana’s democratic systems by facilitating the release of information to the public via its letters column. Indeed, it can attest to having its journalistic principles tested on numerous occasions by me. However, it has been extreme in respect of its assertion that my letters which submitted the constitution and objectives of the Democratic National Congress (DNC) was an attempt to launch the DNC in its letters columns.
The letters columns of Guyana’s local press have increasingly become a significant source of relevant and useful information to the general population, and I would go so far as to say, shaped the outcome of the 2015 elections. All versions of my letter which detailed the constitution and main objectives of the Democratic National Congress in fact constituted a pre-release of this information to the public, and sought to stimulate discussion and dialogue on our proposals.
There can be little question that Guyana is currently in a political crisis, where both of our major political parties have failed abysmally to deliver on our welfare and developmental needs, and both continue to appeal to ethnic groups, an approach that has had retrograde consequences in the past and promises no different going forward. I submit that waiting to see what will most certainly unfold at the 2020 elections is not the best option. The Democratic National Congress was created to respond to Guyana’s needs in our current situation. In this respect, time is a valuable commodity, thus the manner of disclosure of our constitution and objectives. For those who have not had the benefit of reading our disclosures in either of the other local newspapers (‘Bringing Guyana into the 21st century’, KN & GT Apr 2, GC Apr 3), the official launch of Democratic National Congress will be held soon.
Yours faithfully,
Craig Sylvester,
Party Leader
DNC
