Dear Editor,
I regret having to make this contribution. It is what makes me, at times, think twice about being here, when the Leader of the Opposition said what he said about the Sputnik vaccines. What was attributed to him speaks to the irresponsible, malicious, dangerous. It is more than appalling; I damn it. When the Opposition Leader went public recently and urged Guyanese to get vaccinated, I was encouraged. Though belated, it was the right thing to do; it showed maturity and strength. It is never easy for oppositions to support anything that political adversaries in government do, so when that call to get vaccinated was issued, I saw it as a sign of rare statesmanship, rising above the crablike fray, the constant bickering and dragging down. I thought it was good, with all on the same page. Similarly, when the same Opposition Leader – a man and group that I now hold in the scantiest esteem-focused and questioned the price of tens of thousands of vaccines from Russia by way of the UAE, I also thought that that was part and parcel of what a dependable opposition worth its salt delivers in a crisis situation. Opposition groups have to be vigilant and function as alert watchdogs even more in emergencies, for then governments tend to stuff all kinds of trickeries into the mix. The UN and other well-recognized agencies have warned that the COVID-19 pandemic provides thick cover for costly skullduggeries by government leaders, as implemented by government operators; this PPP government is better than most at such corruptions. Though a hue and cry automatically arose, I think that the opposition did right by pushing for answers. It should not and must not accept blindly whatever cesspit stuff the PPP government shovels at Guyanese. Thus, I think it was in order, and that price development I laud. On the other hand, I am taken aback that no less a figure than the Leader of the Opposition should find it necessary, feel sufficiently impassioned, concerned, and driven, to put an exploding device into the public domain. The dangerous device that the Sputnik vaccines have question marks about their safety and, hence, efficacy. On what basis? Where is the proof? What is the source of such ‘proof’? Though my language is measured, I think that what was done can be compared to sentiments in the trenches that ‘government mischief is afoot’ and that ‘certain people are in danger because of government leadership malice’ or ‘don’t tek no vaccine, becaaaz deh waan fuh damage yuh.’ I don’t care how this may be denied, or claimed to be unintended, that is the result in the heads of Guyanese willing to believe anything about political opponents. Editor, I have no regard for government leaders, but I refuse to believe that they can be this sinister, destructive. It is late now, but I wish the Opposition Leader had maintained his customary silence. What was done is the pits, the depths of possibly premeditated deviousness.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall